Point of Redemption Review please :
by dendara100-1
Summary: Adriana OC is Vincent's lover and finds herself torn in two as Carly and her friends are targeted to be his latest artwork. Will she reach her point of redemption or fall into the dark abyss of murder and sin? Previously published but majorly rewritten!
1. Chapter 1

HOUSE OF WAX

Disclaimer: House of Wax does not belong to me, I'm just playing with the characters!

What to Expect: I have been reading some of the fanfic on House of Wax out there and they mostly have to do with Nick/Carly incest, which is a little disturbing, so I thought why not put a story unlike that one here! This story is mostly compatible with the film, although, I wanted to explore more back then with Vincent/Bo and then change it by adding one other character... Story is going to be in Vincent/OC perspective

**POINT OF REDEMPTION**

Chapter 1: Mirror, Mirror

Trudy Sinclair fluttered around the kitchen, cigarette in hand as the silent boy with the disfigured faced watched his mother's movements intently. There was nothing wrong with her movements, he thought sitting silently with a pencil and paper in hand, but she seemed edgier and twitchier as she occasionally glanced into the pot boiling away at the stove.

"Vincent, darling, hand me the mould." Trudy said hurriedly pointing at the clay face on the table.

Vincent rose, obediently picking up the mould and handing it to her. The mask on his face was worn away, as it did almost every few days. Quite slowly, he watched her pick up the steel ladle and stir the hot white wax before pouring it into the mould face. His face. This was his life. He had several faces to hide behind. What made him so ugly to look at? Vincent had read his father's medical texts. There was hundreds, thousands of people with skin disorders and face disfiguration worse than his. Why was his mother so intent on covering his face?

He stepped back, so wrapped in his own thoughts as his mother careful peeled out the wax skin from the mould and set it onto the table. The flimsy wax face would need to be coated with wax several times, varnished with clear glue and then painted very carefully to resemble what might have been his face, if he had one.

"Pretty soon, darling, you will have learn this yourself. Mummy isn't going to be here always." Trudy pointed at the face while taking her deepest puff yet, "Do you want to paint it or shall I?"

Vincent didn't reply as he nodded, absently, before picking up the face and looking at the smooth pale luminescent skin he would claim. Yes, his mother was not going to be here forever and he had come to depend on her - slightly. Her plague of insanity came and went as it pleased. The phone rang and Trudy answered but Vincent could not hear. He was gone, heading up the stairs to his father's surgery room and then about to open the trapdoor in the floor. This was the space they had carved for him. Vincent moved abruptly as something moved in the corner of the surgery room.

"What are you doing here?!" Another boy, handsome at the same degree his brother was ugly, said brusquely before regaining his composure, "Freak with a mask is still a freak."

Vincent stared at his brother, Bo, wondering what he might have said if he could speak at all. Would he tell him to shut up? Or maybe to mind his own business? No, Vincent thought. His brother was right. A freak was always a freak. Bo smiled antagonistically before, abruptly, taking the mask and crushing it with a vengeful strength in his hand. Vincent gasped and saw the flakes of wax fall off Bo's hands onto the peat floor and heard Bo's strained laugh as he left.

Vincent stood there attempting to pick up the cracked pieces of the face only to break it up even more. But at sixteen years, he felt like his soul was just as broken.

Silently, he cleaned the mess and continued along the dimly lit corridor. A large pot of wax, solid and white, sat atop the stove as Vincent lit it. He lit several candles, taking out his carving and painting tools, waiting to make himself another mask to hide his face from the world. His world was a bleek one. A bed covered the length of the farthest wall, several dusty books on art and medicine lined the old wooden shelves. Another large cabinet was loaded with artist's tools. Vincent could not complain, his mother and father had supplied him with everything - from wax to paint. He could not complain if they had forgotten love.

"He did it again?"

Vincent turned around slowly to see her standing by the door in a black top and cargo pants. She was beautiful. Adriana. Her long dark hair was loose and swaying as she edged closer to him, unafraid. She had never said anything in her life about him being disfigured. She knew why. Adriana had lived at the foster home in Ambrose long enough to get into trouble with the police. That's how she met Bo and then through him, Vincent. Vincent felt as though to her this was just as normal as anyone else.

"He's a bitch." She finally said as she peered in the pot, less than a foot away, "I saw him bolting through the your dad's medical room. I think he was stealing money. Says he wants to watch, 'Whatever happened to Baby Jane?,' again, what is it with him and that movie? I told him he's _fell over the edge of sanity_ to want to watch horrific looking Bette Davis. I really think he should stop his oh-so-thrilling life on the edge. He's going to get himself into trouble. You know worse police trouble. It's a good thing your parents don't know about Mrs. Polock. God, they would die. Come to think of it, I think she suspects Bo..."

Vincent's lips quivered into a small smile. Mrs. Polock was the one they, the three of them, had stolen the rabbit from. It was an experiment for art, Bo rationalized, as it would impress their mother exponentially. Vincent had just watched from afar as they crept into her backyard and into her house. Luckily, she was at church - at night - and stolen her rabbit. They killed it and gave it to Vincent who suffered migraines to attempt to keep it from decomposing by filling it up with wax and painting and touching up each fur strand. It was strenous work but he enjoyed it and even more, he enjoyed Adriana's company as she watched with morbid fascination.

He loved her talking as the thoughts entered her head. Adriana did not think too much and the words that streamed from her pouty deep pink lips were as good as true. She had come to just talk around him and he listened because he was often interested, craving the sound of another's voice with just rambling. No one else came to just keep him company. It was an exquisite relationship. Knowing it was idiotic, the time Adriana spent with perfect Bo surfaced in him a touch of jealousy which he could not explain. He was better than Bo, talented and sensitive, but as quickly as they came, Vincent buried the thoughts. According to his mother, he should have been trying to increase the quality of his artistic ability, least of all worry if a girl would find him attractive.

"You know, you should teach me to paint." Adriana said quietly picking up a paintbrush, "I always wanted to learn how to paint. I saw the rabbit upstairs, it was perfect, of course. It looked so real. It's really smart of you to paint it brown. I saw Mrs. Polock come in the other day and she was staring at that damn rabbit. Maybe she hoped it would turn white. Your mother was like praising it endlessly and then Mrs. Polock left with conspiracy theory painted on _her_ face. That painting over there is awesome. Are you hiding it? You shouldn't hide it. You should put it up in the House of Wax. I mean it's literally upstairs. I know your mother is picky but you can just sneak it inside. I'll help you put it up."

Vincent turned to see the painting propped up in the shadow of the shelf. He had done that two years ago in the shade of his solitude. It was a concoction of darkness, repressiveness and evil that he tried to capture. His mother's steady but slow decline into madness was what he thought of most of the time nowadays. The paintings and artwork grew darker as the years crept by and more in number stacking silently along the crevices of the walls.

"What? Did she say it wasn't good enough, again?" Adriana asked before pausing, "It's better than her work, Vince, way better. I was moved by it and that's saying something because I care about nothing. Well, except for you and Bo. Don't get me wrong, I wish all the best to your mom and dad but they shouldn't isolate you the way they do."

Vincent nodded to acknowledge her compliment. Then, he began his wax face. Pouring wax into the mould, there were many of them, he swirled the hazy liquid around in the clay. It was setting and nearly five coats later, the wax had cooled into a crisp white. Carefully, Vincent removed the wax and set it onto the table working diligently to fill the concaves of his face, which he knew by memory, pausing to allow it to harden. He looked up and saw Adriana perched on top of his working bench, leaning over on one arm, and watching clearly mesmerized by what she was seeing. He had hardly ever thought what she might have suffered for having no parents. For one, Vincent loved her unconditionally. He wished he could tell her with his voice for once. He would die for her. He would kill for her.

Their eyes met momentarily and she handed him the flat paintbrush. Vincent put out palette and began mixing several colours. He was on his way to making his skin. Yes, his soul would be complete.


	2. Chapter 2

HOUSE OF WAX

Chapter 2: Pandemonium

Adriana walked through the dingy corridor of Vincent's 'lair' as she adoringly called it much to the annoyance of his older brother. Vincent followed suit the sultry beauty as they both heard Trudy Sinclair's piercing screams of dinner. Adriana rolled her eyes and climbed up the ladder and waited for Vincent while jumping slightly in her place.

"Bo wants to go to gut something. What a freak he is." Adriana spoke absentmindedly, "But, hey, it could be fun. It could be fun. Says he'll call Lester and we can all go out and gut an animal. My mother would roll over in her grave if she found out I was hanging around big boys after dark."

She giggled as Vincent shut the trapdoor and headed out of the surgery room to the awaiting kitchen. The smell of pot roast came soaring towards their noses. Vincent noticed the growl of his stomach and the soothing sound of Adriana inhaling the aroma.

"Hello darlings," Trudy said, nudging her husband who stared at the The Ambrose newspaper. The older man looked up and gave a brief smile towards Adriana and a bare acknowledgement of Vincent. The sun shone over the black words and made everything illuminate eerily.

"Adriana, how are your folks? School?"

"Fine, Dr. Sinclair, the time they actually remember they have an adopted daughter. But it's not their fault. I mean they have busy schedules gambling all over town. Money is so hard to come by when you waste it on a slot machine. And I don't know about school, I don't bother going. I read enough to keep me occupied and _educated_ as I know you often worry."

Vincent was well-aware his father had come to partially ignore Adriana's speech. Why couldn't anyone see her plea for acceptance? She was on her way to a self-destructing breakdown. This was, as any good doctor would have known, the destination of neglected kids. He looked at her and saw she just blankly shrugged and smiled at his mother. Adriana had fit in extraordinarily with the Sinclair family. Trudy was skeptical at first but saw in the young girl a bit of herself and warmed up. Vincent often suspected his mother had high hopes for Adriana to join the family when she grew older - officially through marriage. He also knew they hoped she would marry Bo, considering he was the only normal looking one in the family. Vincent had grown up learning that, consistently with is mother, that people were not ready to commit themselves with unique people like himself. A freak, that's what he was. He stared at Adriana from the back subtly.

"Honey, would you like to say for dinner? Neither of us mind." Trudy said setting the large pot of roast. Adriana smiled even more radiantly as she collected dishes from the cabinets setting them on the table.

"I see, what if Vincent minds?" Adriana paused at the edge of the counter looking intently into the dark holes of his mask where his eyes were and lowered her gaze as an innocent girl does. Vincent could feel his face burning, he could almost feel the warm blush washing over his pale skin where the sun had never reached.

"Don't be silly. He doesn't think anything." Trudy dismissed quickly, "Vincent, your plate. I have a splitting headache."

"Do you want ether, darling?" Dr. Sinclair asked, looking up from the newspaper before adding, "A little might help."

The old woman who pulled out another cigarette and placed it between her lips. Vincent grudgingly took the plate and headed out of the kitchen. Part of him did not mind, it was tenfold easier to be alone and not have anyone stare. Adriana opened her mouth to protest but immediately hushed. She took her plate to the table setting it down and watching Vincent from the back disappear back into the dark hallway most like back down to his niche.

"Mrs. Sinclair, do you mind if I step out and eat. I have been slightly feverish lately."

"I don't mind, darling and-"

Adriana bolted through the hallway and dashed into the surgery room. She had never done this. She had never seen Vincent's face. What was it like? Although it did arouse her curiosity, Adriana knew Vincent was on the whole a very interesting boy. His face was just a piece. She carefully lowered herself down the ladder and walked slowly as to avoid falling in the dim corridor. They were back where they began and it pleased her. She often thought of him regardless of whether he did or not.

Vincent had already slipped off his mask when she arrived and quickly he set it back into place. He stared intently, his heart thumping with anxiety and nervousness. Why had she returned? She never returned before.

"I thought you can use some company. I mean, if you want to be alone that's completely fine but I like to look at your artwork. It's very expressive." Adriana rambled on poking at a brocolli. She inched closer to him and narrowed her pretty eyes, "People can't eat with their masks on."

Vincent's heart began beating fast. How could he say he couldn't take off the only thing that separated him from the world if he did not have a voice. Did he want to show Adriana the horrific monster he was? He would scare her away. He shook his head in disagreement and turned away.

"Vincent, Vincent, I am far more understanding than you think. I just had to summon my courage for this confrontation." Adriana let her hand trail up his chest and his breathing hitched. Her fingers traced the smooth wax face as she lingered around the wax edges. Vincent moved closer as his body hungered for more of her touch. Suddenly, like a kitty with an injury, Adriana snatched the wax mask off his face and he stumbled backwards covering his face with his hands.

"Stop hiding it from me. They have no right to keep you away the way they do." Adriana commanded as she moved his hands away and took his face in her hands, "I am not your enemy."

He lowered his hand hesitantly. They stared at each other. His eyes unable to see clearly, hers filled with compassion and tenderness. Vincent saw a glint of something ferocious dancing in her eyes as she moved away again picking up her plate and picking out the peas from the meatloaf. For the first time, his hands were numb to life the mask back on his face. Vincent looked at her and she gave him a small smile. Adriana perched herself on top of his work bench again shaking her legs slowly.

"I know your mother likes me. She already told me I would be perfect for Bo." Adriana said looking up from her eyelashes, "I always thought that maybe it wasn't Bo who I'm intended for, speaking of fates and things, maybe there's a future for me with you. That is if you want me."

Vincent moved closer to her standing between her legs as their eyes were peering at each other from the same level. His wax mask lay on the floor unattended and their lips were inches apart. Adriana let her hands slide up his chest, over his face pulling him closer. She kissed him, little chaste light kisses feathering over his forehead, eyes, nose, jaw and finally as if finally reading his mind, on his lips. Adriana let herself melt as his body heat radiated on hers. Vincent felt his heart beat wildly as she hungrily devoured his lower lip. The intoxicating smell of her hair crept onto his clothes as he pushed her onto the work bench. He could feel her hands on his back pressing him down on her.

"Now, this is the most dispicable sight I have ever seen," Bo's rugged voice sounded, "Beauty and the Freak."

Vincent immediately pulled himself off her and she was heaving on the table. How could he explain to Bo what just had happened? Adriana sat up, her eyes glazed with contentment and lust-filled passion.

"I didn't hear what you said. What do you want?" Adriana said sighing, "Interrupt everything."

"I said, it's pretty gross watching Beauty and the Freak get it on." Bo laughed cruelly as Vincent skulked towards his mask. "You should thank me, I saved you from giving your virginity to a boy who should be circus freak. Ha. Besides, I thought we were going to gut something and put it in the House of Wax. Lester's waiting outside."

"Shut up or I'll gut you. Had enough of Baby Jane? Did you mindfuck her?" Adriana said as she hopped off the table looking terribly irritated, "Let's go."

Bo shrugged. Vincent stared bewildered at what had conspired just minutes before. Her hot kisses were still sweltering his face like heavy little stamps that never cooled. He feared they would never go away.

"Aren't you coming, Vincent?" Bo asked with a grin, "You may be a freak but you are a hell of a gutter."

Vincent walked through the corridor and all three of them walked into the kitchen replicated room inside the House of Wax. He looked at his mother's lifeless figures not helping but wondering why Trudy Sinclair's work was so sloppy lately. He wondered if the tumour in her head, as his Dr. father had put it, had something to do with this creative degeneration. They walked in silence at the rickety looking truck waiting in the street.

"Hey, y'all. Get in the truck, I have the perfect idea." Lester said, his hands on his hips. Lester was eighteen, two years older than the others as he sat in the driver's seat. Bo sat inside leaving room from one more. Vincent stared at the remaining seat and motioned for Adriana.

"Lester, drive slowly, me and Vincent, we'll sit in the back." She took his hand while the others were preoccupied and they climbed into the back of the pickup truck.

Adriana stretched her legs and leaned against the wall of the truck. She noticed the assortment of knives strewn around. Vincent saw the blades and he furrowed his brow. The sun had already set and Ambrose seemed to be ready to sleep. A few people were in the streets and a few inside the number of stores that lined the street. But they were headed outside of Ambrose into the forest. After a good solid hour of driving and listening to nothing but Lester's poor attempts at speaking with a southern accent, Adriana was glad when the truck stopped. Lester was first to hop out of the truck as Bo followed close behind.

"There are lots of wild animals we can gut here." Lester said, sobering, "Everyone grab a knife of choice. Dear God, so excited."

Vincent pulled a ten inch knife with an ivory handle and held it tightly. Although he was not completely in tuned with the idea of killing animals, he was looking forward to the artistic process of making a wax model out of it. His mother would be proud of his work, Adriana would spend hours with him filling her morbid fascination and Bo would stay away. They walked into the darkening trees and Adriana walked behind Bo.

"All you better keep away from me," she said quietly, "these are sharp knives."

Bo laughed and slapped Lester on the back.

"Quit it, Bo." Lester whined, "Hey, listen."

All four stood quietly at the sound of a man talking. They crept closer when they saw a couple intertwined in each other's arms, kissing passionately. Lester moved forward.

"What are you doing?" Bo asked and Vincent nodded, "If they see us, they're going to tell the cops we're running around with knives!"

"Think about how mom will put these in her House of Wax, it will be the most beautiful figures of them all."

Vincent shook his head in disapproval and edged towards his elder brother.

"You going to go back, chickens, without gutting something?" Lester asked dangerously, "I thought you people were serious about this whole thing."

"We are, but it's not going to be them," Adriana quickly voiced in, "they are people, Lester."

"All the better." Lester pushed past them and moved forward with the machete in hand. Bo and Adriana both shouted after him causing the couple to break and look up in fear. Lester walked towards them, his machete out and forward paralyzing his prey.

"What are you doing?" the man asked, "You Trudy's boys? My God!"

Bo and Adriana stood there knives in hand and Vincent stared on out of view.

"Guess how we are going to push the creative envelope in the House of Wax." Lester asked the man and woman who looked ready to faint.

"By using you." Bo finished the sentence raising his blade and stepping though the brush.

Lester pounced on the man first, immediately slitting his throat, the same way he did with chickens. The woman screamed, like a lewd banshee, and began running into the trees.

"Get her, she'll tell the cops!" Lester yelled and Bo followed her running aimlessly in the dark.

"Come on," Adriana said abruptly. They were all running after the woman. They split through the trees, each with the objective to stop the woman at any cost. It was thrilling as Vincent felt the true pain of exhaustion in his legs. Adriana wove between the trees and could no longer hear the other's footsteps. The knife in her hand was warm and inviting. So, this was the thrill of the chase. It was exhilarating. She saw the woman's shadow ahead of her and Adriana suspected she was hiding behind on of the tree's ahead. Adriana immediately slowed down and walked slowly through the peat and pine needle covered forest floor. She rounded the tree seeing the woman kneeling and crying silently. Like a tiger on the hunt, Adriana walked around.

"Boo." She whispered and the woman's eyes widened with fear, a small scream escaped only to find her neck met with a slicing blade. The woman was clutching her neck and fell onto the ground groaning and moaning. Adriana watched in utter curiosity as the woman died.

Bo and Vincent heard the scream and immediately hastened towards it. They both found Adriana sitting opposite the body against the trunk of the tree. She was still holding the bloody knife.

"Are you alright?" Bo asked pulling her up.

Vincent examined the body wondering if he could salvage the broken skin.


	3. Chapter 3

HOUSE OF WAX

Author's Note: The title is Italian for a Dark Beginning, thought it would be cool. Anyways, it's much fun, Vincent and Adriana have got it on! Also, I've decided to give the perspective of Adriana and Vincent just to keep things spicy from male and female perspective. That said, on we go...

Chapter 3: Un Inizio Di Oscurità

(A Dark Beginning)

Vincent sat silently in the pickup truck almost conjoinedly with Adriana who was so still it seemed she had stopped breathing. They had crossed over tonight, the sun completely gone over the curvature of the earth to the other side. Vincent was scared, to say the least, as he watched the eerie jiggling of the two bodies lying awkwardly at his feet. What had they done? Just to impress his mother, he had taken part in murder? He looked at Adriana who was fidgeting with her fingers before she turned to him.

"It's probably not right," she whispered near his ear, "not right, for art, for recognition or anything."

He nodded silently. Adriana looked up to the window of the pickup and saw Lester look back. His driving instinctively slowed down.

"They were going to tell someone we were running around with knives, come on Adriana," he said, his voice had lost it's shake and was composed, "pull yourself together, all three of you. Mom's got a delivery of paraffin two days ago. Vincent can coat them, inject them with it, whatever the hell he does. You two can help him. I'll see what goes on in town and clean this filthy truck."

"Maybe you should clean yourself up," Bo taunted with a loud guffaw, "you smell like a rotting liver."

Adriana gave an uneasy laugh and pulled her feet up. The truck pulled up in front of the House of Wax. Adriana and Vincent were first to get out, both frightened of their new cargo.

"Aww, come on, they're dead!" Lester laughed, "They ain't gonna get up and kill ya! I'll help you get them downstairs."

Vincent led the way into the house of wax, followed by Adriana. They descended the unnatural staircase, it's walls lined with carvings of anonymous faces. Lester pulled one body down the stairs, careful not to let it tumble. Adriana inhaled and exhaled deeply attempting to stop any potential vomit from coming up. Vincent kept his hands in his pocket and felt the churning of his stomach as a blood trail followed them. Neither turned back to see Lester heave and sigh. Vincent flipped the switches and the lights illuminated his personal space. Lester picked up the man, after many attempts and a drop, and plunked him onto the working bench.

"That's the last time I sit on it." Adriana declared elliciting a small smile from Vincent.

"Alright, get to work, before it decomposes or something." Lester mumbled, "I'll go get his broad."

Vincent opened a box, lying unattended on the floor, pulling out several block of wax. Adriana lit the gas stove setting a rather large pot onto it. Vincent dropped the wax inside and immediately it began to melt, into a liquid nothingness. Adriana watched him open the leather pouch that lay on his makeshift bed and pull out needles, suture threads and rusty scissors. He held it up to her and she took it, letting her fingers brush his. Adriana threaded the needle and tied the end.

Vincent took it and began sewing up the long wound on the neck. Adriana picked up the scissors and slowly cut off the dead man's clothes leaving a small towel to preserve his dignity. She diligently dumped the water over his body, wiping away dirt and blood. The lifeless eyes looked up, glassy and empty. Vincent retrieved a rather cruel looking instrument, a thick needle with a large steel canister. He unscrewed the top and Adriana helped pour liquid wax into it, ladle by ladle. They worked well together, both aware of the short life of liquid wax. Vincent pricked the man in the gut, pumping him with wax.

Adriana watched in between their filling and Vincent's pumping as the man retained his shape and even smelled better, a waxy dark smell. Adriana looked at Vincent and he nodded. As if there was a small secret language in their eyes, his dark green one and her gray ones, she nodded back because she understood. She knew their hearts beated in unison, maybe even for each other. She poured the wax onto the man's skin, it was hot, as it slid down in between the fingers and lips. As she continued her impassive work, Lester came down with the woman putting her on a piece of plyboard that lay on the floor.

"You look almost done." Lester said, awkwardly filling the silent air.

Vincent and Adriana sighed simultaneously and worked away in silence for hours into the night. The final ladle of wax dried and Bo came bundling down the stairs, his face red and sweaty.

"I cleaned the stairs and the tiles upstairs in the House." Bo said, "Lester's done with the fuckin' truck. It was like a puddle of permanent neon red."

"So, it's done?" Adriana asked, "Because, we're done. Except for the painting which could be done later. I'm going to sleep, God knows how, but I am."

Bo shrugged. Adriana kissed Vincent on the waxen face before leaving.

OoOoOoOoO

Vincent spent a good many hours into the night painting the wax female figure. He had carved her, meticulously, occassionally hearing his mother's piercing scream, and jumping. Trudy Sinclair's tumour was getting worse as was her fury on all things art. She was growing tedious at her work and displayed her anger whenever she could. Sometimes, Vincent felt embarrassed when his mother would berate Adriana, even when she had done nothing. Adriana shrugged it off in good nature understanding Trudy Sinclair's mental degradation. Vincent's father would take it even more seriously, often shutting himself away in his surgery to read or escape the throngs of his stressful life. The House of Wax was not boasting any new artwork and the people of Ambrose stopped coming. To add to Trudy's woes, she often rebuked her sons and Adriana for not helping her make this 'Town of Wax' she always dreamt of.

Another scream and Vincent nearly broke off the female wax figure's nose. He stepped back and heating the little silver scapula, reshaped the nose that was already there. He painted her, this dead woman, as if it was normally what he did. But he wasn't really feeling any of it. It was just another art piece that he would show his mother. Vincent looked at the figure's eyes, brown. He furrowed his brow underneath the mask and left the figure to find plaster. Tediously, he shaped pieces of it into almond shells and slipped it into the optical cavity.

With a steady hand and love in his heart, Vincent painted her eyes. A breathtaking gray, giving her long black lashes. He was satisfied, even though the hair was not the colour he wanted it to be. Everytime he would see this figure, he would see Adriana. The one who was not disgusted to kiss him, to touch him, and to love him. Maybe to see her was enough.

He looked at the male figure in sitting position (and Vincent had suffered to put the corpse into sitting position, fighting rigor mortis was quite difficult). It was done and could be positioned into the House of Wax. He glanced at the clock sitting on the desk in the far corner and yawned. The sun was rising. Removing his mask, he breathed properly, a long gust of cool air whereas the mask kept out most of the air. Vincent brushed back his chin length black hair and rubbed his eyes. He looked at the figure for a last time before closing the overhead light. He closed the door behind him and lay down on the mattress. Sleep took him.

OoOoOoOoO

Bo and Lester dragged the corpse up the dreary stairs to the chair they had chosen earlier. Vincent stood, mostly skulking in the shadows, as they put the wax figure carefully onto the chair. Adriana stood on the sides and just pursed her lips.

"Is this good, Vincent?" Lester asked moving the wax figure on the chair. Vincent moved out of the shadow stepping into the light of the empty House of Wax. Slowly, he moved the figure's legs at an angle, finally fixing a few stray hairs and then stepping back to see it properly. Bo and Lester left to retrieve the female figure leaving Adriana with Vincent. She looked tired.

"I didn't sleep, kind of like you, I guess. You stayed up doing all this, Vincent?" she asked walking next to him. He nodded and she continued, "you are persistently perfect. _Con insistenza perfetto_."

She was close to him. Her fingers were wrapping around his. Vincent wanted this to continue, he craved the knowledge of what would happen next.

"Open this door," Lester called as they heaved and huffed, "Fat broad. Probably 150 pounds."

Adriana quickly opened the door and the two brought in a tall woman figure and set her by the door. Vincent pointed to a vacant spot near the door and they moved her there. Adriana followed from a distance and examined the woman's face intently. She was pretty, not exotic but rather average. She noticed the glassy gray eyes that were not the originally the dead woman's. Had Vincent changed these? Lester and Bo left, one guffawing at the other's comment, and Adriana pointed to her eyes.

"You changed her eyes." She said with dark realization and grinned. Was this a projection of his devotion to her? "You know, someday, you are going to have to tell me exactly how you feel. I don't care if you can't speak, you better learn sign language or write it or something."

Vincent removed his mask and opened his mouth to speak. Though his vocal cords were almost non-existent, he could whisper. He beckoned her to come closer which she did without hesitation. A look of curiosity and amazement crossed Adriana's face as she stood. He leaned in and she thought her legs would give.

"_Li ho bisogno di più di lo avete bisogno di._" Vincent whispered raspily.

A smile of pure joy crosses her lips and her arms encircled his waist tightly.

"I see." Adriana spoke back barely over a whisper, "I hope its not long before I can _show_ you how I feel."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Trudy Sinclair sat on the kitchen table sobbing wildly. Dr. Sinclair walked around the table attempting to console his wife before giving up and leaving. Adriana sat on the table and patted the older woman on the back as she found the chance.

"The pain is more than I can bear!" Mrs. Sinclair bellowed, "Where are my worthless sons? Why don't I have daughters?"

"Mrs. Sinclair, please, calm down, breath in and out," Adriana said quietly as she spied Vincent watching from behind the door frame, "Vincent added another work to the House of Wax. It's so beautiful, Mrs. Sinclair, maybe you need some fresh air and just think about art and colours-"

"Shut up, girl!" Mrs. Sinclair, "I don't need a mother. Vincent!"

Vincent came out of the shadow and stood in front of his mother. He was taller than his mother, his shoulders broad and his arms hard.

"God, darling, where is Lester? Where the hell are these worthless sons I've given birth to?!" She yelled with delusion, "Stop looking at me Vincent, it is not my fault God has taken your face. He has given you talent! Why can't you use it!!"

Adriana gasped as Mrs. Sinclair picked up a glass and sent it soaring towards Vincent's face. He, not expecting it, felt the full impact of it's pain across his already deformed cheek. He winced and instinctively held his face.

"Mrs. Sinclair," Adriana cried, "No!"

She edged closer to Vincent to see the blood dripping down his face and shards of glass all over the floor.

"Get out of my sight! The both of you!"

Adriana followed a sullen Vincent into the surgery room and down the ladder.

"She does that more often now." She said looking as he removed the broken mask off his face. Vincent was comfortable with her, "Sit down, Vincent, let me do it."

Vincent sat down on the mattress while Adriana took a clean piece of cloth and wiping away the blood. Her face was calm but he could see the pain in them. What on earth had he done to deserve this angel in disguise? She took out a Q-tip and dipped it into the isopropyl alcohol pausing before she let the cotton glide over the long gash. He breathed out noisily and she immediately blowed on the cheek.

"Sorry, sorry." Adriana mumbled incoherently, "It must hurt, I forgot."

Vincent opened his eyes to see her so close, her warm breath on his lip like little jolts of electricity where nothing existed. She was sitting so close. So close. His skin craved her touch. Her nose craved her smell. He let himself go. He pressed his lips against hers and her fingers were wrapped around his dark hair. Her lips moved from his lips, to his good cheek, to his neck, further down and down. He was amazed that she was pulling his sweatshirt off! Adriana wanted to feel everything. The intoxication of warm skin. Vincent. She wanted to feel Vincent. She wanted Vincent. Vincent. Vincent.

Abruptly she sat up. Her hands were in his.

"There's too much time, Vincent," Adriana said with a peaceful look, "It will be much better than this."

He was happy with that. Vincent pulled down his shirt and pulled her into a very close embrace.

"_Attenderò per sempre, se quello è quanto tempo prenderà._" That was the last thing she heard properly as they sat there very still unwilling to move.

NOTE:

_Li ho bisogno di più di lo avete bisogno di_ - I need you more than you need me.

_Attenderò per sempre, se quello è quanto tempo prenderà _- I will wait forever, if that's how long it will take.

----Vincent and Adriana are both people who have been neglected and unloved. And so, I figure, when they find each other, their love will be very pure and true and unconditional and wholly giving! Yeehaw!


	4. Chapter 4

HOUSE OF WAX

Author's Note: Chapters to come: Now, I've laid down the 'love'ly premise of Adriana and Vincent. They are very unconditional with each other. Now, I want to build on the whole family relationship, Trudy's downfall and the death of Dr. Sinclair. Just for fun, I've decided that Vincent and his family are Italian descendants (Adriana might have learnt from them - after all, they have been hanging out for a while...) Of course, I want to start the real killings and then the moment we're all waiting for: When Nick, Carly and company come to Ambrose- 'That's hot!' Read and review!

Chapter 4: To Digress and Vindicate

Vincent followed Mrs. Sinclair into the House of Wax. His mother seemed to be almost normal now mostly for her stubborn habit for smoking. She looked around, her long red fingernails on her chin and a polka dotted headband holding her hair back. Vincent who was not one to make many appearances decided it would be best to see his mother's priceless face when she praised him. Luckily for him, the House of Wax was devoid of visitors. Adriana had not come this morning and it made him uneasy. How he had come to rely on her company.

"Is this your work?" Trudy Sinclair asked letting her red nail flutter across the perfectly smooth wax of the new wax models, "Darling, how did you get it this in proportion? I had no idea humans can be this perfectly sculpted. I don't know how you did it but if you continue like this, our Town of Wax will be on the front cover of every newpaper in the world!"

Vincent smiled inside his mask and nodded furiously. What he wouldn't give to have a praise like that about every sculpture he ever made? How would he tell the others without a voice? He would try with every ounce of sound in his throat to tell them. They had succeeded.

"Well, it is good, I'm glad I came to see it but I feel a headache coming along. I'm going to lie down." Trudy Sinclair sighed painfully and left the room, her thick heels clanking as she walked across the wax floors and out of the house, "I don't want you parading yourself up here. Go back inside, Vincent. And tell Adriana to come see me some time."

Vincent looked at the figures a last time before descending to his lair.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Adriana and Bo sat on the tall stools of the ice cream parlour both poring over a smudged newspaper. Bo, occassionally sipping a chocolate milkshake, let his fingers trail over already blurry words. Adriana left her dish of ice cream to melt as she read diligently.

"Nothing about them." Bo said leaning backwards, flashing a devilish smile to passing girl, "Let's leave it, it's been a week, they are probably some dumb tourists. We'll check it tomorrow."

"You are downright lazy. You're skipping over whole pages, no wonder we can't find what we're looking for. It's right here, listen," Adriana said, "'Couple travelling from San Francisco said to have gone through the sleepy town of Ambrose have been reported missing by relatives living in Jackson, just hours away. The couple was expected to arrive early this morning. Police are inquiring into the couple's detour and are asking for the public's help to locate them.'"

Adriana paused, thinking, and the tinkle of the bell broke her reverie of thoughts.

"The cops better no peak into the House of Wax." Bo said definitely sipping the last of his sugary drink.

"We can say they modelled for us." Adriana said thoughtfully.

"Or we can kill everyone in Ambrose and build this great Town of Wax that no other artist can compete with." Bo raised his eyebrow and Adriana gasped, "I am joking. Joking. Let's get out of here. Jeez, joking."

Adriana plunked down money for the both of them and they walked out of the parlour into the blinding summer sun. They walked along in silence and Adriana peered into the window of the pet shop. She saw several police officers hanging about inside the shop and the hair on the back of her neck rose. What on earth would they want there? Bo, apparently, saw the same thing and pulled her along even faster.

The house of the famous wax sculptor Trudy Sinclair and her doctor husband came looming ahead and they both entered the unlocked door. Adriana jumped backward as the female Sinclair's scream rang through the house. She was having those downward spirals where the pain was unbearable. Bo slowly began his ascension up the stairs. Adriana followed quietly and a vase came soaring down the stairs narrowly missing her head.

"Watch yourself." Bo said.

Mr. Sinclair dashed through the hallway with belts in his hand. Bo sprinted to catch up with his father saying something Adriana could not make out due to the cries of agony. Adriana simply watched in horror as the doctor threw his wife onto the bed and despite her violent scratches and shouts attempted to strap her down.

"I'll kill you!" Trudy yelled, "You take your hands off of me!"

"Trudy, I can't do that." The doctor said calmly, "You will hurt yourself."

"Fuck that!" Trudy yelled banging her head against the pillow.

Adriana stood outside of the door feeling very much as an intruder in a very private family moment. She turned around to leave feeling the tears well in her eyes, the beating of her heart accelerate wildly and the churning of her stomach increase. Silently, she let the water trail down her cheeks, her sight blurred by the haze of liquid, before looking up to see Vincent looking at her curiously.

He stared over her head and saw his mother strapped to the bed while his father jammed a thick needle into her arm and her howl in pain. It was more than he could bear, really, to see his mother go over the edge of no return. No one could help her, he knew that. The tumour was in her frontal lobes, practically immovable by surgery, and the reason for her sudden personality change. She went from an artist to a lunatic. There was no mistaking that. His father looked weary and slumped on the floor as his mother lost consciousness.

Adriana pushed past him and with the bang of the front door was gone. Vincent returned back to his place and immersed himself in work.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"_Courtney Longhouse and Rick Jingellhopper have been missing for two days. The couple's vehicle, an all-terrain jeep has been found in the clearing west of Ambrose. Though the couple have not been found, Ambrose police are expecting foul play. Citizens of Ambrose are encouraged to report any suspicious activity._"

"Jingellhopper?" Lester burst out laughing while attempting to pile up logs against the wall inside Vincent's lair, "That's the most idiotic name I've ever heard."

Adriana just stood by the large pot that was solid and stared inside. The House of Wax was shut down due to supposed 'construction' but Adriana knew the people of Ambrose knew Trudy Sinclair had gotten to ill to continue her work and it was all collecting dust. It was good in a way, the police or anyone would never see the once alive Courtney Longhouse and Rick Jingellhopper inside sitting in limbo.

Vincent carefully edged towards her. She had become detached and depressed. He wanted to hold her hand and convince her that life moved on, no matter how hideous or hard. It was a lesson he knew all too well. He stood beside her discreetly, trained to be almost invisible, and pushed his fingers so that they touched her. Adriana looked up and gave him a small smile.

"Vincent, Vincent," she said in a low sing-song voice, "naughty, Vincent."

"The House of Wax is not reopening. It can't because those two ugly dead people are in there." Bo said as he plunked down the newspaper, "It won't be long before they come looking after us because they know it was us."

"And what do you, genius, want to do?" Lester taunted wiping his sweaty forehead with his sleeve.

"What the hell, Lester? I don't know what the hell to do!" Bo said.

Vincent picked up a paper and scribbled down words. He handed it to Adriana who immediately raised her eyebrow.

"What does the freak say?" Bo asked coldly.

"He says, 'We make more,' Adriana read slowly.

"Exactly my line of thinking." Lester answered maliciously. "This is exactly what I think. Just think, all of Ambrose will be art. We'll make the House of Wax bigger and bigger until it becomes such a feat of art that people travel from countries to see it. Mother will be proud of us."

"There is so much wrong with that logic." Adriana said immediately, "I mean what about the people in this freaking town. Aren't they going to notice anything, that people are missing and suddenly this House of Wax is getting more and more sculptures. People can put two and two together."

"That's right, we kill them as they begin to discover. It'll be our little game. Prey, slay and display." Bo said smiling serenely.

"You're serious?" Adriana said as she eyed all of them, "Alright, then. We prey, slay and display until there's no more."

Adriana liked the sound of this game. It was challenging and difficult. She looked at Vincent and gave him her old lustre laced smile. She had returned and Vincent loved it.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Trudy Sinclair was still strapped to the bed moaning and immediately rose as much as she could as Lester, Bo and Vincent filed into the room. Vincent looked at her with sympathy as she looked away in disgust.

"Where is your father?" She asked between clenched teeth.

"In the medical room." Bo answered swiftly.

"Where's Adriana?" Trudy spat, "Get her in here now!"

Adriana, upon hearing her name, fearfully stepped into the room. Trudy Sinclair's features softened only slightly.

"How's the House of Wax, Adriana?" She asked, "Tell me truthfully."

"It's - it's good, what I mean is, Vincent is working on new sculptures and-"

"Is someone even looking at any of it?"

"Well, yes, they want to, but the whole exhibit isn't up and the effect is not the same-"

"Shut up. I know I will not live for long. I want Ambrose to boast the most graphic and real town of wax the world has ever seen. I want you to withhold this honour for me. In my name."

Lester and Bo exchanged glances.

"Consider it done, mother." Bo said finitely.

"That's all I need to say to you boys. Adriana stay and the rest of you leave!" Trudy barked.

Adriana shrunk backwards. The three of them left and shut the door behind them.

"I have another favour to ask you." Trudy Sinclair looked up, "Untie me, girl, and then I'll tell you exactly what."

Adriana crept forward. Alternatives raced in her head. Should she untie the volatile Mrs. Sinclair? The older woman would be pleased and Adriana did like her very much. This woman was the only mother she had known.

"Tell me first, Mrs. Sinclair and I'll untie you at the same time." Adriana replied meekly as her fingers touched the belt buckle.

"Alright, when I die and I will most likely very soon, I want you to stay here with my boys. They'll need someone to care for them. They need someone with a logical head like yours. I always wanted a daughter, Adriana. Perhaps, you were written in my fate instead my own blood."

Adriana pulled out the strap out of the buckle and Mrs. Sinclair's one arm was freed. She brushed out the hair from her face. Quickly, Mrs. Sinclair unstrapped herself and stood up out of the bed. Quite violently, she struck Adriana's face.

"Good girl!" Mrs. Sinclair bellowed and yanked the door open.

"No, Mrs. Sinclair!" Adriana yelled as she followed the crazy woman out. Vincent was nowhere to be seen. Bo and Lester huddled at the bottom of the stairs looking up from an intense conversation. Dr. Sinclair came out of the medical room with a handgun in hand.

The events passed quickly. Mrs. Sinclair came lunging at her husband at the bottom of the stairs. He fell backwards and Adriana continued to scream. Trudy Sinclair ran into the kitchen followed by the doctor. She waved around a chopper at him accusing him of tying her and abusing her. He denied vehemently and she got irritated quickly. She slashed at him and a very nasty gash appeared on his arm. Bo and Lester tried to pry their mother from killing their father. They both go thrown back by a surge of energy in Trudy Sinclair. Their father ordered them all out of the house. Bo firmly gripped Adriana's arm and pulled her out.

They were pacing by the front door while Lester attempted to call the ambulance. A single gunshot sounded followed by an incoherent cry from the doctor. Adriana pushed past Bo who held her back.

Another gunshot and silence.


	5. Chapter 5

HOUSE OF WAX

Author's Note: This is one of the last chapters that sums up Sinclair 'childhood.' What I hope I achieved is the sense of isolation between Vincent and his family, the connection between Adriana, Vincent and Bo and the recklessness of Lester. Then, Carly and company head into Ambrose. Then the real fun begins, of course. Read and review!

**Chapter 5: Darkness Falls**

Lester, Bo and Adriana sat down on the steps of the porch. Lester had returned from the inside the house just moments before reporting, quite grimly even for his idiotic nature, that their father had killed Mrs. Sinclair and then himself. Bo stayed abnormally quiet. Adriana looked around through tearful eyes.

"Where's Vincent?" she asked timidly not really wanting to interrupt their thoughts, "He shouldn't be in there."

"He's not there." Bo said snappishly, "It's like the freak to hide himself when danger comes. Escapism, that's what he's good at."

"You're no better." she retorted hotly.

Several police cruisers pulled into the driveway and the three of them looked up. Adriana wondered what would now happen to the Sinclair boys since they were orphaned and alone. Would the social services separate them? Where would she go? Adriana was no longer a permanent addition to the family she was assigned to. Rather, she had drifted from them because of their lack of supervision and regard.

"You the Sinclair kids."

"Yes." Bo said, "Obviously, we're sitting on the porch."

"Don't get cheeky with me boy." The police officer said pushing past them, followed by a few others who had just arrived, into the house, "Stay out here."

Adriana watched as the man left and her heart began to race. What would they uncover in there other than violence upon violence? She wondered if they would see the trapdoor in the medical room. Or more importantly, the medical room at all. Dr. Sinclair had lost his medical license for illegal surgery he had done years ago. But Adriana considered him a pioneer, a man who was not willing to let a few ethics stand in his way for discovery and new science.

She sat there desperately wringing her fingers while Bo eyed her carefully. She knew he was thinking the same thing. The pictures, she thought of the once conjoined twins, were still in the desk drawers along with newspaper clippings would reveal Dr. Sinclair to the authorities as the man who ran away from his past. The Sinclair parents had hid the fact that Dr. Sinclair was the one charged with unethical surgery practice, albeit the fact that the patients were his own sons, from the town of Ambrose. They did tell the kids of this as it once made great story over scones and tea. That is until Mrs. Sinclair snapped.

Her personality took a turn for the worst and she began a ritualistic habit of tying Bo to the high chairs with straps. What she hoped to achieve was condoned by the father and he mostly helped her.

Adriana remembered while she sat on the worn away porch of the Sinclair house of the time she was ten and mostly due to her rebel nature met Bo in the parking lot of the corner store. She idolized him, he was cute, and discreetly followed him around. The last time she would follow him like this was when they walked into the theater boasting "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"

"Why don't you quite following me like a stupid girl?" Bo whined then, "You're so annoying."

"I'm not following you!" Adriana replied tartly despite the full blush of her cheeks, "I came to watch this movie."

"You're pathetic," Bo laughed, "Why don't you just hang out with me, you know, instead of following me?"

In any other world, it would have been simple to just decline the offer now that she had been discovered and in such embarrassing context. Still, Adriana was determined.

"Fine, I'll hang out with you."

"I don't care." Bo replied with gusto, "I like you T-shirt."

Adriana looked down to see that her T-shirt was worn out, solid red with bleach stains that turned it pink some places.

"It's a new style." She stated and left it at that.

"Come over to my house," Bo said, inviting her while the movie played amidst the harsh hushing coming from the crowd, "We have bleach, we can make some ourselves. You, shut up!"

Adriana laughed hysterically as the fat man four rows ahead sat down red. The usher came in and they were both kicked out of the theater. They did get home and the ten year old Adriana immediately caught the eye of Mrs. Sinclair.

"Aren't you precious?" She cooed, "Well, except for your attire. No matter, darling, I have dresses you can have."

And with those few words came a whole relationship with an extremely messed family that Adriana had come to love and crave as her own. The female Sinclair had been like her mother.

Adriana broke out of her reverie when several other cars emerged in the driveway. Skinny men and women jumped out in force, notepad and pens in hand as well as tape recorders. A police officer shooed them away pointing persistently at the yellow 'DO NOT CROSS' tape.

Adriana knew they wanted a story and she knew they were with The Ambrose newspaper and the death of the greatest artist this sad town had ever seen was killed along with her eccentric husband.

Adriana could see the story, 'Trudy Sinclair, a soon-to-be famous wax sculptor killed by her yuppie husband over a fit of jealousy. He thought she was cheating with the barber's son…'

"What if they find the knives?" Lester asked loudly.

"Shut up, idiot." Bo snarled, "It's with Vincent, underground. They can't go there. I'm going to killed that reporter over there."

Adriana looked at them and nodded. It was not going to be okay.

oOoOoOoOo

Adriana sat in the ugly room boasting pictures of squares and brown sofas along with Bo and Lester. They were taken, forcefully, to social services office to be adopted out despite Lester's insistence that he was legally an adult.

"Now, tell me, and you can be completely honest, what kind of mother was Trudy Sinclair? Did she physically abuse you? Or maybe, even sexually? How about you father?"

"You're the one who's been sexually abused, you bitch." Bo said between his teeth at the horn-rimmed glasses wearing psychologist.

The psychologist just pursed her lips and make comments on her yellow paper pad.

"Aggression towards authority figures, sarcasm, and a likelihood of abuse during childhood." The psychologist mumbled and Lester held his face in his hands.

"Adriana Sanders, a document found in the Sinclair home indicated that you were officially adopted by them or in the process of being so. Do you deny or accept these allegations?"

"Accept." Adriana said quickly adding, "I was adopted originally to another couple but they leave to Las Vegas, Nevada on a monthly basis. In that context, I don't even have parents, now do I?"

"I suppose not."

A police officer bearing some documents in his hand emerged into the room handing her several papers. The psychologist took a few moments to read.

"In these papers, there is an indication that Lester Sinclair is nineteen years old as of last month and is entitled the guardianship of Bo Sinclair and Adriana Sander. It also states that Adriana Sanders may or may not, depending on her personal choice, change her name legally to Adriana Sinclair. I will leave you a few moments to think."

The psychologist nodded and headed out of the room.

"What about Vincent?" Adriana whispered.

"They don't know about him because father declared him dead after surgery. It was mother's idea actually. She said if Vincent does not officially exist, then no one can inquire about him and make him feel badly of his face."

Adriana deemed it horrific to declare one's own son dead but this circumstance, it seemed legible. In any case, she could not really think about anything clearly.

The psychologist returned and handed them each a paper outlining the terms and that they were alright with it. They each signed and the woman filed it away into the awaiting manila file. They filed out silently and returned back into the back seat of a police cruiser.

It was after dark and they stepped out into a world with not seemingly existent safety net. The house was dark and dim and Adriana followed them inside.

"What are we going to do?" She asked finally.

"We're going to make ma's dream a reality. We're going to begin this town of wax."

Adriana stared at them and saw for the first time the outline of the bodies left by the police.

Author's Note (Further, since I have so much to say ^_^): This is one of those foundation laying chapters, next chapter is when Carly and company come to town, come to town, come to town and then we can get on to prey, slay and display!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: To Prey, Slay and Display**

Bo drummed his fingers against the side of the pick up truck staring into the forest clearing at the six teenagers. The song he recognized as Spitfire penetrated the air in a truly annoying fashion which he could only submit as teenage fanaticism. Beside him sat Adriana who looked as though she could be sleeping.

"How long are we going to sit here?" She yawned, "Does it take this much time to scope out pieces? Or are you checking out the blondes?"

"Hmmm, blondes? I like the short one." He declared after a long period of silence.

Adriana closed her eyes and tried to drift off. Staying up after midnight for many nights had taken its toll on her. She yawned again until her eyes shot open hearing screams.

"Hey, yo, man, you need something?" Yelled the black boy loudly.

"Finally, it's getting interesting." Adriana sat up.

"He really expects me to kill my headlights?" Bo laughed, "Idiot, I'll kill him."

"Hey, can you turn off your lights, please?" Now spoke loudly the boy with the strange bowl-looking haircut.

"And now speaks the pushover boy." Adriana commentated, "It seems like everyone just walks all over him, doesn't it? Except the short girl. That must be his girlfriend."

"Turn them off or I'm whupping someone's ass." The shorter white boy said, pulling his hood over his face.

"The boy with obvious power issues. Those are the hardest to deal with. To kill." Adriana continued, "Why is it we always watch strange, bizarre teenagers? I know you have a thing for blondes but teenagers? My God, it would be cheaper to drive into another town and collect some people!"

"Stop it, Adriana." Bo said coolly, "You know as well as I do that few people pass through this freaking town. Remember that news broad? Jennifer or something? I ran her over good."

"So good that Vincent is still trying to patch her up together," Adriana rolled her eyes, "Can we not do that this time? It's hard putting together fragments of skull."

"Yeah, yeah." Bo replied.

Adriana looked at the punk looking guy who was holding a bottle and smiled when he threw it right at the truck.

"That bitch broke my headlight!" Bo exclaimed with a surreal grin on his face, "He's just asking to die."

"See? I told you these hoodlum gangster dressing types have a lot of zest." Adriana said with another yawn, "Let's get out of here. We already know what happens next."

oOoOoOoOoOo

Vincent paced back and forth in front of the smashed girl wondering exactly how he should start to put back her body together. Wax alone was extremely fragile. He had already tried that. She just kept falling apart. Vincent heard the truck come back and his heart lifted thinking that Adriana had also returned home.

Plasticine? Yes, that might work, he thought glumly.

"Vincent?" Adriana called from upstairs.

Vincent put down his mixing spoon and began his trek upstairs. He entered the kitchen and saw his brother, Bo, drinking juice from the bottle.

"I hate it when you do that!" Adriana exclaimed, "I absolutely hate it!"

"Well, deal with it." Bo said plainly, "Freak's here."

"Guess what? Vincent?" Adriana began while clearing the dishes from the rack, "We have six more potential figures to add to the House. There's a tall boy for the piano. How's the newsgirl? Did you figure out how to salvage her from the mess Bo made? I think the tall blonde will be excellent in the ballroom."

Although Vincent could not speak, Adriana continued her rambling because she was accustomed for the last fifteen years to speak to him. He knew she was comfortable. Whereas Bo ridiculed him and Lester ignored him, Adriana would embark on whole conversations despite only getting few raspy replied and head nods.

"Listen, freak, you're coming with me. We have to sabotage them to keep them longer in town. I know, I'm going to slash their tires." It was completely like Bo to get right to the point.

"Slash tires?" Adriana asked looking up from slicing apples, "That's so obvious. Psycho guys slash tires. They'll know you did it. They will know something's up and then they'll call the police. They'll run away."

"Fan belt, then? Fine, I'll cut their fan belt. That forces them to come to the gas station, now don't it?" Bo said viciously.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Vincent walked along the bouncing trail, over pine needles and Lester's animal parts, to reach the makeshift campsite those damn teenagers had made. Bo did not say a word but rather relied on ambiguous hand signals. Vincent had the cutters in his pocket and Bo attempted to open the hood of the blue pickup. Vincent watched his brother pull but to no avail.

Bo quickly began working on the other one. Its hood easily lifted and Vincent shone his mini flashlight to see the brand new fan belt inside. He cut it. Bo again attempted to open the blue pick up. Vincent, expecting no luck, crept around the campsite and randomly picked a tent and peered inside. A boy, with a curly mop of hair, laid sleeping and drooling on the floor.

Vincent let his hand inside the tent flap and picked up the video camera. He was intrigued if nothing else on the types of memories this little device held of the outside world. Was it different than his memories growing up?

"Let's go." Bo whispered and Vincent immediately lurched forward not wanting to anger Bo.

They headed back when a voice stopped them dead in their tracks. Vincent knelt beside the blue pickup watching the tent.

The tent flap opened and the short blonde girl stepped out in thermal socks and sweater. Laughable, Vincent thought looking at her socks with an amusement. He looked and saw his brother standing by the tree ogling at her.

The girl walked around the camp fire and around the pick up. Vincent dodged her closely. She looked scared and timid as she bravely made the round. Vincent fought the urge to step in front of her and scare her to death. His face alone could do that, he was aware.

Vincent stared up and saw her boyfriend came out from behind her. Three, two, one-

"What are you doing?" He asked her and she jumped.

"You scared me!" She said groping to clutch his arm.

Vincent crept back into the dark trees as they continued their conversation. Bo was already walking back but Vincent stayed behind to see. The camera was rolling.

"What are you doing, Wade?" She replied back to him. Dumb blonde, Vincent thought letting his mind wander back to Adriana. Adriana never depended on any of them. If there was danger, she was front line center with fervour.

"Getting you back to bed. Come on. Let's go to sleep, Carly." Wade said, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"I heard something." Carly beckoned. Typical, Vincent thought, of certain women to complain relentlessly to their male counterparts. It was what his mother did and it drove him mad.

"Get in that tent." Wade said with a small grin pushing her along into the small tent.

Vincent and Bo walked along the trail in silence back to the famed House of Wax.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Adriana wrinkled her nose as she stared down at her black tank top. The stink of Lester's wretched truck would be forever pressed into the seams of her shirt. Dead animals smelled bad, she admitted, but not as bad as dead human. She breathed out noisily as she saw Lester hauling out a dead deer from the back of the truck Thank God he was not going to take it home, Adriana thought. She was getting quite tired of cleaning out the kitchen everytime Lester attempted to cook his roadkill. Not that anyone else actually ate his garbage anyways.

"Hey, is there a gas station around here?" Asked the one called Wade, as described by Bo.

Adriana juggled the idea of telling Lester to get rid of the truck. She hated riding in it as she had today from Ambrose. She had walked five minutes to make it seem as though she and Lester did not know each other. She was standing, leaning against a tree, hidden, as Lester did his best to lure them to Ambrose.

Originally, Bo had decided he would be the one to do it but Adriana refused. Bo would blow his temper and they would have to start all over again. Either he would blurt out his purpose or run them over. Putting together a broken skeleton was very very hard. Even for the medically trained Vincent.

"Well, I got some gas in the truck if-" Lester was answering.

Adriana's head shot up. No, no, they did not need gas. The older car needed a fanbelt. That's what was sabotaged in the night, wasn't it?

"I need a fanbelt." Wade replied shrugging in that boyishly charming way. Adriana turned around to get a better view of the guy. She smiled devilishly. Vincent loved her and so she would not stray from fidelity, not even for a boy that good-looking.

"Bo might have one. Runs a station in Ambrose. It's not too far," Lester smiled, a lopsided hillbillyesque smile. Adriana groaned. Don't overkill it, Lester, she thought. Teenagers nowadays were more and more aware of the happenings around them than ever. They could sense coercion anywhere.

"You can start walking there." Lester continued, "It's just around a bend an hour and half from here. I have to take the truck around the other pass. Check for roadkill. I'll meet you up road and give you a ride the rest of the way. Or you can hitch a ride with me while I do my round."

"It'll be fine. We'll start walking." The blonde, Carly, replied nudging at Wade.

Lester only nodded.

"We'll get the tickets from the scalpers. Kick-off starts in a few hours. You fix your fanbelt and meet us there? All good, Wade?" The black boy said quickly eyeing the blonde standing closest to him.

"Fine, Blake. Yeah, that's good. The game's not why I came anyways." Wade replied looking again at Carly. The surly boy with no shirt just stared impassively at the whole procession.

"Okay, I'll phone you guys. Come on, Paige, watch it baby." Blake said holding the tall, much too thin Paige's hands.

Adriana took this as her cue and bend over stretching her legs. She began sprinting through trees. Carly and Wade would intersect her path and she would woo them both into staying in Ambrose. Beautiful pieces of young art. It was what the House of Wax desperately needed.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Some fifty minutes had passes and Adriana watched the road patiently for any sign of the slow duo. They finally showed in the distance and Adriana pretended to tie up her laces. She stood up and blocked the sun from her eyes with her hand.

"Are you from around here?" Carly shouted while waving.

Adriana walked slowly towards them.

"Hi, are you from around here? We're from out of town and we're looking for the closest gas station." Wade said with another mushy grin. He didn't intend that smile but Adriana enjoyed it anyways.

Adriana smiled at Wade and Carly frowned.

"Yeah, I live in Ambrose. The closest gas station would be in town." She laughed, "Come on, I was just out for a stroll but I'm going back. I can walk you there."

"That would be nice," Carly said finally.

They walked in silence under the hot sun. Carly and Wade would share the occassional whisper amongst each other and Adriana walked ahead. She pushed her hands into her cargo pants and yawned. Damn those long nights of chasing people. Adriana looked down at her belt glittering in the sun. The silver was chipped off one of the metal shapes during their latest catch of Jennifer, the drama queen newswoman. Bo had to eventually run her over with his truck. Adriana winced at the thought. But Jennifer did have a trendy suitcase filled with casual clothes, business suits and lots of makeup.

It was in this manner that Adriana amassed a lot of things for her wardrobe. Belts, lipsticks, skirts and dresses- even those movie stars in Hollywood would be jealous. That was the thing about this town, the name alone attracted people. Ambrose - nectar of the Gods, was running with the blood of its visitors.

Adriana woke up from her thoughts as she heard the unmistakable rumble of Lester's truck.

"Hey! You guys still want a ride?"

Wade nudged Carly.

"Do you trust that guy?" Carly asked Adriana, perhaps out of some womanly confidence.

"Well, I've never seen him before." She treaded carefully on her next words, "Walking the rest of the way will take us an hour at least."

"Yeah!" Wade called out to Lester, "If you don't mind."

"Not at all." Lester answered with a chuckle, "You can come on in as well. It will be a little tight but we'll survive."

Adriana shrugged. Lester stopped the truck and hopped out. They all waited as he opened the passenger side door.

"Just hop on in!" He exclaimed jovially.

They all climbed in. Carly and Wade looked intimidated. Adriana followed along. Lester revved up the engine and accelerated.

"Can you open the window, please?" Carly asked suddenly as if conscious that she was seated closest to Lester who even _looked_ like he stunk.

Adriana sat crammed on the side closest to the disabled door with Wade beside her. He looked agitated and scared all at once. Adriana moved forward so that his shoulders lay flat against the seat.

"Thanks." He mouthed.

Adriana nodded.

"Sorry about that, truck's seen better days."

"Do you mind rolling down your window, then?" Wade said suddenly, changing his voice from polite to assertive.

"Not at all." Lester replied nonchalantly, "Sorry, I kind of get use to the smell."

Adriana nodded while raising an eyebrow. This part might about him might have been completely honest.

"Really, I don't think I could ever get used to it." Carly said curtly with a look of smug satisfaction that teenagers often have.

"Well, you can get used to anything if you're around it long enough." Lester finally spoke and his voice shook.

Adriana looked at him and certain sadness washed over her face. She knew it was wrong. This whole kill-people-and-pump-them-with-wax thing. It was utterly unforgivable. All of them continued this menacing, heart wrenching procedure to keep a dead woman happy? Adriana thought on Lester's words long enough to see that it was profound. Lester never showed this side of him.

She remembered many times before wanting to leave Ambrose, this bizarre life. Adriana could no longer consider herself normal. She could not walk into a movie theatre without thinking of the one in Ambrose. She could not look at people without wondering how their wax counterparts would look. Adriana hated herself for this. She wanted to change it. She looked up at Wade and saw his perfectly chiselled face staring at ornaments hanging around the truck. Did he deserve to die?

"If you get roadkill in the early morning before the sun bakes them up – they're not so bad." Lester said definitely, "If they're fresh, though, I just take them home. Why waste the meat?"

Adriana sighed deeply. The uncouth Lester again resurfaced. Carly and Wade exchanged disgusted looks.

"Are we almost there yet?" Wade interrupted.

"It's just up the road. Ambrose used to be nice town before-"

"Before the interstate came in." Adriana finished, "Still nice though. Where are you guys headed anyways after the gas station?"

"Huge college football game between Louisiana and Florida. We're going to Florida," Carly said with a small smile.

"Florida sounds nice." Adriana said with a simmering smile and then a sultry laugh, "Football, I don't know."

"Looks like the roads washed up ahead." Lester said eyeing Adriana this time and she silently nodded.

"I thought you said there was a town here. When's the last time you've been here?" Wade demanded. He was getting annoyed and scared.

"You don't believe me? Well, I just got to flip my hubs into four-wheel."

"That's okay, we'll walk the rest of the way. Thanks. You've done enough." Carly said.

"Mind if I walk with you?" Adriana asked knowing they would not refuse.

"Uh, no." Wade said quickly while Carly gave him a jealous look.

"Try and do something nice for someone..." Lester's voice trailed off as he continued to take something out of the trunk.

"Look, it's not like that. We really appreciate it." Wade shrugged as the three of them walked over the puddle and onto dry ground.

"It that guy looking? He's such a freak." Carly said finally.

Adriana looked at her and smiled.

"He collects knives, I wouldn't piss him off." She laughed and continued.

They walked along the trail before reaching the outskirts of the town so famously known as Ambrose. The great House of Wax loomed over them and Adriana had a fleeting urge to yell and tell them to run. Run far away. But her voice remained silent and game on.

* * *

Dendara100: Wow, that was a long chapter… I tried to incorporate a lot of dialogue from the script into the story. I promise it will get more action next chapter. And also, I promise to include the other four characters. ^_^ Reviews always welcome and help always welcome…give me ideas!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Dusty Old House of Wax**

"Wow, it's so empty." Carly said absentmindedly.

"Uh, well, you know these small towns. Everyone sleeps and mind their own business. Not much activity after the-" Adriana scanned the walls of the empty buildings for some plausible excuse, "Beauty pageant. Miss Ambrose pageant."

Adriana pointed at the posters and raised an eyebrow. She saw the two of them slow down and Wade whispered, a little too loudly, in Carly's ear.

"Wonder how many teeth you have to have to win that one." He said.

Adriana smiled inwardly.

"Shhhush," Carly said with a stifled giggle.

"Anyways, gas station is right at the end of the street. I have to bolt, you guys can manage?" Adriana asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, thanks for coming with us." Carly said and Wade raised a hand to wave.

"Babe, there's a pet store!" Adriana slowly walked along the street and that was the last thing she heard coming from the bubbly blonde.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Adriana walked along the empty street towards the Sinclair house. She was walking slower than usual as she thought deeply of the two people she had just left behind. The invisible threads that bound them together - the strangers and the Sinclairs - was the design of fate. A fate working against the well-being of humanity. How many more times more would Adriana and Vincent be accomplice to the late Trudy Sinclair's dreams? How many more souls to be snuffed to fill an empty run down House of Wax?

No matter how good a family felt for an orphan like Adriana, she knew the difference between right and wrong. Killing was wrong. It was wrong. True she had a morbid fascination with Vincent's life-like wax models, it held the same creep factor as a body in a coffin or discovering a rotten corpse in a lake. Why did she help? Because she was messed beyond saving. Adriana had the same urges that Bo had to win the approval of their dead mother. Like Lester had said, how do you get away from the only thing certain in life?

Adriana opened the unlocked door and entered.

"Bo!" She called getting no answer, "Vincent! Damn men!"

Adriana flung the door of the elder Sinclair's surgery and entered. She saw the light coming from the trapdoor in the floor. Adriana knelt on the floor and opened the smooth door. She jumped down and sprinted through the corridors she knew all too well. Adriana found him standing with his back towards her. His umkempt black hair swayed as he moved swiftly back and forth with a candle in his hand. She was quiet as usual as she crept and wrapped her hands around his waist. The classical music hummed softly in the air.

"I swear you have more fun with her than me." Adriana snorted, "She's got a nice chest. Smaller than mine but still nice."

Vincent put the candle and spatula down and turned around to face her completely. She was looking at him with a tender face which made him a little uncomfortable. He hated intense scrutiny when it came to his face. Her hand was on his chest inching downwards slowly then around his waist to the back. Vincent felt her fingers fumbling with the knot in his apron eventually prying it open.

Adriana had always been quick. She knocked off his waxen face and pulled him in for a feverish kiss. He never predicted when she would do this but she got him every time. Not that this bothered him much anymore. Adriana was the only one he allowed to ever touch him like that. Intense scrutiny leading to the hot and heavy was always welcome.

"One of these days, we'll have to marry, my dearest. A baby should not come out of wedlock. Where's Bo?" She asked while scratching his back lightly from _under _his shirt.

Vincent shook his head while pressing himself closer to her. She was at the edge of the table now with a feral look in her eyes. That look was the one she wore when moving in for the kill. He lusted over that look alone.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Bo knelt in front of his mother's coffin as the pre-recorded sermon droned on and on. It was a Sunday and so he liked to continue this tradition he conjured up on his own. He had waited for the others to come join him as they grudgingly do but concluded their newest art forms were higher priority than a little sermon. They would come eventually. Bo heard them finally. The beautiful blonde and her dimwit boyfriend came closer to the church. Nice.

_"Let us all bow our heads and say a prayer for our beloved deceased friend."_ Bo listened mouthing the words with his hands folded.

"Why don't we ask someone in the church?" Carly said. Music to ears, Bo thought.

They barged in, decrepit on manners as they were, and then were profusely mouthing sorry. He sighed closing his eyes and finished the small prayer. Seeing that they were gone, he pushed the stop button on the recorder. He stepped out of the church into the dim sun.

"Hey, man, sorry about walking in. We didn't know..."

"You shouldn't have walked in," Bo said curtly. He pulled out a cigarette box out of his pocket and pulled one out.

"Yeah, I know. It's just that we have car trouble. We're not from this town," Wade began explaining.

"We were looking for Bo. He works at the gas station." Carly said stepping close to him and smiling subtly.

"You found him," Bo said taking his first puff.

"Really? Well, we need a fan belt. We were camping up the road and-" Wade said. Ungrateful wench, Bo thought gleefully.

"A fan belt?" Bo chuckled darkly, "You walk in on a funeral for a fucking fan belt?! Well, let me just go dump the casket in the ground. I'll be right there."

"Look, we're sorry." Carly said pouting her heart shaped lips.

"Yeah." Bo walked away from them back into the church. Let them wait, he thought standing on the other side of the church door. Bo glanced momentarily at his mother and a dark feeling washed over him. He returned back outside, "Hey, I'm sorry. You know, someone very special to me passed. And I didn't mean to take it out on you."

"No, no, no. It's totally understandable." Carly replied arching her eyebrow.

Bo smiled at her. What would it be like to have someone cling on him the way she clinged to her boyfriend?

"I reckon things will wrap up soon. Why don't I meet you guys back at the station in about a half?" Bo asked. This would give him ample time to ready things at the house for the kill. But Bo strongly did not want to kill the girl.

"That'd be great, if that's okay." Carly said quickly, a subtle blush staining her cheeks.

"Yeah." Bo returned inside the church.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Vincent's hands were flying all over Adriana's taut body. He wanted her clothes to disappear but she just smiled wickedly at him. Adriana was now lying on top of his work table with him over her. Dust floated from the ceiling and Adriana gently pushed him back. Vincent savoured the feeling of her hot skin against his.

"Look," she whispered.

"Hello?" Wade called from above, "Anyone in here? See? We're fine."

Adriana sat up pulling down her tank top. Vincent's arm was still around her waist. It was the idiot Wade. He was prying inside the killer's den. What was wrong with him? Did he need to rent a brain?

"How cool is this? Everything in here is wax. The floor, the walls. Look at this. This is wax." Wade exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah. Cool. Awesome." Carly replied monotonously.

Something about him made Adriana doubly sad. Often, she detached herself from potential figures but this guy was bumbling about a House of Wax pointing out figures to his deadbeat girlfriend. Adriana hopped off the table and listened. Although Vincent gave her undivided attention and devotion, Adriana could not help but wonder what a normal relationship would be like. What would Wade be like, or the ruffian, the dark one or the curly top one?

"Aren't there supposed to be famous people in a wax museum? I don't recognize this guy." Wade said. Vincent turned off the classical radio.

"'Trudy opens House of Wax,' 'Trudy's wax carvings are a hit at the state fair,' 'Trudy and husband are expecting first child.' Since when is a wax sculptor a celebrity?" Carly asked and pacing the floor above them.

"Oh, no. There's a fire. Help me, Carly! I'm melting. My skirt's gonna catch fire. My legs are burned." Wade joked.

Adriana raised an eyebrow. She may have been curious about other men but Vincent and his artwork were her genuine loves.

"Is he burning something up there?" Adriana asked quickly, "If he is, I suggest we slit them now."

Vincent shook his head.

"Fine, later." Adriana leaned against the table and Vincent continued moulding the lady.

"That's not cool," Carly said.

"Vincent? Another Vincent." Carly continued as they scoped through the House of Wax. Adriana was pleased they were acknowledging Vincent for the talent he was, "This Vincent guy's quite the artist."

"Yeah, I think this Vincent guy needs therapy." Wade said. A ripple of anger went through Adriana. She watched Vincent absorbed in his work.

Vincent heard them exhange sarcastic jokes amongst themselves. Were all humans like this? Judge people before they saw them or understood their histories? It made him angry and furious. He saw the hurt in Adriana's eyes. More than the fury, he felt the curiosity to see these two people trespassing in his House of Wax and clearly not appreciating what they saw.

"Hey! Where are you going, Vincent?!" Adriana called after him but he was gone, "Come back!"

Adriana sighed heavily as she heard his heavy footsteps leave the dark corridors. A few minutes later, she heard Carly gasping upstairs.

"What? What is it?!" Wade inquired.

"I just saw someone!"

"It was probably just a wax thing." Wade concluded after pacing the floor.

"It wasn't a wax thing. It was moving and it was freaky-looking."

Adriana felt her heart bleed when she heard Carly say that. Cruel was the epitome of people who were ignorant. Adriana heard them leave.

Vincent returned and Adriana looked at him blankly.

"You were not supposed to do that." She said gently, "You will scare them away. They do not understand and we will have no figures to work with."

He nodded and continued to work on the figure.

"I wonder what it's like to live out there. You know, Florida or wherever they came from. They look like they have a lot of fun. I mean harmless, non-predatory fun." Adriana laughed and then continued solemnly, "I don't know if this is right anymore. Making these figures."

Vincent stopped momentarily and considered her words. He thought too about this. But it was the dream of his mother and brother. How could he go against them? How could he bury the only talent he had. He loved Adriana and could not fathom life without her. What if she left him for a stupid place like Florida? No, he would never let it come to that. Vincent would rather imprison her in his wax castle than let her go. He loved her too much.

Adriana watched him work efficiently on the woman's back making a perfect contour and ridges of her ribs. He was a brilliant artist. Yet, when he looked up she saw the possessiveness and jealousy that resided in his eyes. A flicker of intense emotion flashed in his eyes. Everytime she hung around Bo or potential male figures. It was as if Vincent could size up his inadequacies when she was with intact men. It was especially different now that Adriana was going to be a mother. She did not tell Vincent, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Adriana could not understand this since she remained faithful to him for the last twenty years - since she was fourteen years old. A sudden chill went down her spine. For the first time, she was scared of being here alone with him and in the House of Wax too.

* * *

Dendara: How's that for foreshadowing?! HEHEHEHE


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Unholy Baptisms**

"I don't think this is cool, just coming in like this." Carly muttered looking around the unkempt garage.

"What? Look, the door was unlocked. He said he'd be half an hour, he's been freakin' hour and a half. I'm sure he won't mind. You know, if your brother and his yes man hadn't come along..." Wade replied crossly as he scanned the fanbelts on the wall. Coincidently, a 15 inch was the only one missing.

"That's not my fault. Nick's got beef with everyone. I don't know, he feels he needs to watch over me. He's the evil twin and he likes that image. That is his image." Carly rambled letting her fingers run over the carved up counter, "Wade, I'm sorry for his remarks."

"Hey, baby, it's not your fault. I know that." Wade stopped momentarily as a feeling of uncertainty washed over him, "Why would this guy just be missing a 15 inch?"

"I don't know, he a psychopath?" Carly laughed, "It's getting dark and really hate this winter."

"I guess I'll just take a 16 inch and make it work somehow-"

"You plan on stealing that?" Bo's asked leaning against the doorframe. He loved watching them squirm.

"No. We didn't know how much longer you were gonna be...and, you know, we didn't wanna interrupt again. I left you money on the counter but you don't have the right size, a 15 inch-"

"I do at the house." Bo said finally. He was getting into this. The blonde hottie was eyeing him and of course she would. Bo was well-aware of his good looks. He smiled at her and she gave him those innocent shy smiles back. Charming, he thought.

"You keep fanbelts at the house?" Wade asked as they trudged outside.

"Well, I get them delivered there when I'm not here."

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience." Wade blurted and it deeply amused Bo, "Do you mind if I use your restroom?"

"Not at all, no need to apologize," Bo replied curtly, "No need whatsoever."

Carly and Wade followed Bo along the gravel road. The silence wasn't awkward to Bo, not really, but he decided that he would instead narrate his story to this two strangers. They were going to die anyways. Why not give them some entertainment first? So, Bo began about his father and mother. The story was getting strange and he could see Carly and Wade cringing.

"Trudy got a cyst in her brain. She just started rotting away. Couldn't work no more and she went crazy. Things got so bad that Doc Sinclair finally had to strap her to the bed. The whole town could hear her screaming. Dr. Sinclair was so depressed that he couldn't save her......he blew his head right off."

"That's terrible." Carly supplemented.

"Uh, yeah." Bo shrugged before absentmindedly adding, "It was worse for the boys left alone like that. They both ended up in foster homes. But never mind that. It happened a long time ago. The town's all different now. Why don't you, Carly right? - sit in the truck and I'll go get the fanbelt. Your boyfriend can use the restroom."

Bo lead Wade into the house. The lanky boy was hardly worth all this choreography, Bo thought, but he had been careful. Before Adriana had come home, Bo outlined in harsh terms how exactly Wade was to be killed. He hardly told his unattractive half how to do things when his beloved was around because she freaked. She always broke into passionate speals on his cruelty. Why could Bo not just shoot them taking them out of their misery before blood spilled? Where was the fun in that?

Bo had always had a soft spot for Adriana. She was his partner in crime. But lately, she was morose and far more detached from them, Vincent included (who held a soft spot in her heart). Adriana was the champion of the underdog. She saw that in Vincent. She saw that in the victims. It was amazing that she was not demanding they stop this perverse tirade. Perverse, he was well aware of it. The bathroom door clicked shut. Bo trudged on upstairs and decided to change into more comfortable clothes.

Ironical, he thought, that today was his mother's death anniversary. Was that a sign from the heavens? He snapped out of his reverie when he saw Adriana in the doorway.

"There's that blonde in your truck."

"Hmm? I know." Bo said buttoning up his overalls, "Where were you?"

"What are you going to do to the boy?" Adriana said, her voice was shaking.

Bo grabbed her arms and peered intensely in his face.

"What's up with you?" He asked with a malicious smirk on his face, "You've always been for these artistic sacrifices. You look sick."

Adriana violently flung his hands off.

"What did you tell Vincent?" She snarled, "What are you making him do, huh? A live autopsy? Conscious brain surgery? Your mother wanted an art museum, not a sadist asylum! It's bad enough-"

"Oh, please." Bo rummaged under the covers on his bed for his cap, "Why do you have to do this everytime? I thought you would be over all this sensitive crap by now. It's just death. It happens. They will suffer but only for a moment."

"With you, it's never like that. A moment takes hours." Adriana was seething but her insides were quivering. This routine happened most times but she mostly stayed away from the killing. She only saw the bodies when Vincent was moulding them. At thirty-four, the toll of this bizzarism was getting to her.

"So what? I gotta go." Bo said indifferently, "Think twice before you do something stupid. You can continue this discussion after dinner or something."

Adriana stood in the dark of his room.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Wade fumbled around the strange room letting the inner child ravage the room. He picked up the preserved pig and shook it arounds. It was nasty smelling, like formaldehyde and burning flesh. Weird. He moved aside flipping through papers and pushing green curtains. Why was he doing this in a stranger's house? Wade knew Carly thought he was square. Always sticking to the rules. It would make an awesome story later. The lights cut out. Wade's heart began beating. This was bad. He inched towards the door and ran his fingers violently against the doorknob. It was locked. He was sweating and adrenaline was pumping. What was it.

Wade grabbed the closest thing to him. The turny thing and began flailing it about. What was out there? He turned to open the door and his vision blacked out momentarily when something cut through his foot. Now he was going to die.

Wade spun around in a desperate attempt to save himself. What was it? His vision cleared when he saw the hideous white face looking him with the biggest pair of scissors. Wade was begging for his life now. The scissor plunged into his chest leaving his nerves firing with hot burning pain. Wade screamed trying to fend off this brutal attacker. No use. He was on the floor merely covering his face when a steel-toe boot knocked him out. Blackness and nothing more...

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Adriana heard the screaming. Her heart was beating fast. The boy was dying at Vincent's hand. She was such a coward. She paced the Bo's bedroom wondering what she should do. Adriana flung the door open. No time to think with logic, she thought. The voluptuous woman tore through the house to the surgical room. The trapdoor was open and there was blood on the floor. Adriana climbed down the ladder and jogged through the dusty corridor. She reached him while he stood over the stove warming wax.

"What was all the noise?" Adriana asked calmly, scanning the room to see the boy lying on the table moaning, "He's not dead."

Vincent look up and shook his head. He took a needle and threaded it. Adriana grimaced as he sewed up the boy. He was groaning and weak. Adriana could not watch. Maybe all these years of indifference had lead to this moment. To see a young man die from injustice, no, helplessness. It was her own vulnerability as a child that made her want a family but it was this ruthlessness that was making anger swell in her. In her eyes, Vincent was no longer the weak one. All these years, they were the monsters. She knew that. She knew it always. But it was hard to just walk away from a life where people accepted her wholeheartedly. Adriana wanted to help the boy on the table. But how?

"Help me." The boy was begging and it made her dizzy.

The stitches were complete and Vincent moved on to retrieve the wax.

"Bo needs your help upstairs." Adriana said avoiding his stare, "You want him to get angry? Because, you know how he is. He's going to kill the girl."

Vincent nodded putting down the wooden ladle and disappeared into the passageway.

Adriana ran to the table.

"Hey, you hear me? You have to help me or I can't help you, okay?" Adriana scanned his body, "That foot's not going to work. We have to hurry up. Put your arm around me. What's your name?"

"Wade. Wade. Please, help me." He rasped.

"Alright, calm down. I will, I will." Adriana pulled his legs off the table and draped his arm around her neck. For a girl, she was pretty strong, sporting a toned and strengthened body. In between these crazy searches for art bodies, Adriana did nothing but workout, "Hold on, hold on! What did he inject you with?"

Adriana picked up the syringe and sniffed it.

"Some variation on tranq. You're not going to move much." Adriana said, a small hope in her heart flickered. Why did good people suffer? Wade was so kind to his girlfriend, he was so innocent, so pure, "No matter. I'm going to save you, Wade. I will save you even if it kills me. Damn, I'm going to drag you out of here."

Adriana pulled him off the table and hobbled around the table towards another passageway. He was moaning in pain. The stitches in his chest were bleeding. She pulled Wade, he was limp but for an injured person he was trying very hard. Good, she thought. Adriana pulled him up the stairs and into the House of Wax. She stopped to listen for someone. Vincent did not return.

Adriana dragged Wade through the eerie dark hallways of the museum. They barged outside through the back and Adriana pulled him along violently towards a closeby house.

"Just a little more, darling," she murmured as if talking to a child, "A little more and you can rest."

Adriana was now hauling a nearly naked man through Ambrose's deserted streets. They did reach the house closest by. It was empty, Adriana's own safe haven from Bo and the others. It was where she lived as a normal woman who thought about the colour of eyeshadow that would look good on that green dress she was saving, what Madonna's latest single was, tomorrow's horoscope. She pushed him inside, her own muscles throbbing with pain, and bolted the door.

"Let me have a look." She spoke, "You'll be fine."

Wade was sweating profusely. He was moaning things in delerium. Did he ever think this was going to happen to him? He wondered what his parents were doing in Michigan. Was Carly going to die too? Did he love her?

The voice was whispering to him over and over. What was she? An angel? Was he dead yet?

"You will not die. I will not let you."

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Bo dumped Carly into the dirty leather chair. She was fighting furiously with him which only angered him more. Why not just accept fate as it was and let him be the bringer of his destiny. Although Carly was arousing, his thoughts remained with Adriana. She was not a blood relation and therefore capable of all disloyalties. Bo suspected they would have to kill her. She would look beautiful in a red dress standing in the bedroom of the House of Wax. It would be a grand lie if he said he didn't think of Adriana in his bed either.

"Shhh, shhh." He cooed as he bound her hands to the metal bars, "Fiesty, aren't we? It's a shame we have to close that pretty mouth of yours. Especially with the way those lips curve."

He held her jaw bruisingly hard and squeezed super glue onto her perfect heart shaped lips. She was crying and sweating. Bo heard someone upstairs. He smiled at her and left the room.

"I'm looking for my sister and her boyfriend. They were looking for a fan belt or something." The hooligan looking punk spoke and it made Bo's blood boil.

"I don't think I've seen them." Bo replied with a curt grin. He knelt down, clippers in hand, pretending to tie his laces. Carly just did not accept her situation, stupid girl. He closed the pliers, snipping her lovely finger off.

"This is the only gas station in town, then they were definitely here." Nick spoke, "What's that noise?"

"Nothing, just my dog."

"Nick! Nick help me!" Carly screamed.

Nick gave Bo a punch across his jaw. The crunch made his adrenaline jump and instantly he was running inside the gas station. Nick leapt onto the garage and closed it locking the suave psychopath outside.

Bo was well-aware of the complication now. The brother and sister were together, could potentially warn the others. The police could get involved. No matter, he had much experience in this regard. He would kill them both before midnight.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Wade's eyes wearily opened. He could feel the buzzing of his foot, chest and arm. The burning of open flesh made his open his eyes faster and attempt to get the hell out of where he was.

"Where are you going? You're not moving anywhere."

Wade moaned in pain. He looked at the foot of the bed where he lay. She was there. That voice belonged to her? Wade looked at her closely. She had black hair, smooth, straight and silky; creamy burnt skin like a peanut; and intense dark blue eyes. What was her motive?

"You set us up!" Wade cried barely above a whisper as the throbbing intensified, "What kind of sicko are you?!"

"And you don't know how sorry I am. I am the worst kind of person. There will be plenty of time for me to rot in jail, Wade. I think you should just rest here quietly. There's not much else I can do for you." Adriana said leaning back.

"What did you do for me anyways?" Wade said, his face wet with sweat.

"I dressed your wounds and made sure you would wake up. You have the full right to hate me, to want to rip out my guts and eat them, to sell me into slavery-"

"You saved me from him." Wade said quietly.

"I promised myself I would save you." Adriana said rising from the bed and looking out of the window.

"Why?" Wade propped himself up, pulling the blanket higher.

"Why? Why indeed. Because you are innocent, helpless against Vincent and Bo. There is no way you can leave Ambrose with a major ligament torn in your foot, stab in the heart and heavy dose of tranquilizer, not to mention severe bleeding. You will die without my help."

Wade looked away.

"Now then, are you willing to cooperate with me, Wade? I will die in jail, rest assured, but I can help your friends too." Adriana let her eyes downcast, "Where are they? How many are there?"

"There are five others." Wade said, "Carly, that is my girlfriend, was outside the house when I was attacked."

"I see. I'm going to go look."

"How do I know you're not just setting me up again?"

"I would not have suffered so much backache to haul your heavy ass here unless I wanted to save you."

Adriana replied curtly as she scanned the depleted house.

"Guess you can take that." Wade shook his head towards a machete propped up against the wall behind the curtain.

"Yeah." Adriana said picking it up and grasping it firmly in her hand, "You're asking me to kill Vincent?"

"I want to save my friends and myself." Wade said finally looking at her. The pain was numb now. He looked down and saw a green gel over his wound.

"Gel novocaine and aloe. Feels good, huh?" Adriana opened the door, "Stay quiet. I'm going to find your supposed friends if they haven't deserted you already."

* * *

Reviews and suggestions welcome!


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** So, I've made now major changes to the original HOW script- read and review!

**Chapter 9: Displaced Loyalty**

Adriana stepped into her living room leaving Wade in her bedroom. The machete was in her hand and already her palms were clammy. She did not live nearly twenty-five years with Bo and Vincent just to turn on them one day. How pathetic! Adriana was well-aware of their sinning and yet she took part in it long and hard. Killing was easy for her because immediately after the adrenaline drained she disconnected herself from the feelings of guilt and sorrow. Adriana returned to this place, her zen. Not even Vincent and Bo knew of it. Adriana had several places like this scattered around Ambrose.

"Damn." She spoke softly. Adriana put the machete on the floor.

Pulling off her T-shirt, she paused relishing the cold air hitting her taut abdomen. She needed something more comfortable to move in. She rummaged the piles of clothes (her house was in no way organized or neat) and retrieved a black halter top that left her back and shoulders open. Adriana slipped off her jeans for loose, casual gray pants. She picked up the machete off the floor and gripped the handle. Her hands were already sweating. Adriana opened the door.

"Hey!" Wade called.

Adriana paused and returned to her bedroom.

"What?"

"I - I wanted to use the phone."

"Fat chance. The lines in Ambrose have been cut off by Bo a long time ago." Adriana chuckled darkly immediately stopping when she saw the horrified look on Wade's face, "Don't turn all morose. My cell is at the house. If I have time I'll call the police. There are more pressing matters at hand."

"It's not that. I wanted to see if Carly was okay." Wade deliberately left out girlfriend.

"Oh. Well, I don't know." Adriana said slowly, "How can you care so much even if you are injured yourself?"

"They would do the same."

Adriana walked slowly towards Wade and she sat beside him on the bed.

"Your innocence is utterly refreshing." She leaned down and gave him a tender kiss on the forehead.

Wade was mildly horrified when she began to walk towards him but this woman's lips were soft and gentle. Something about her was innocent as well. She meant well.

"I don't even know your name." He found himself saying.

"Adriana, darling." She rose and walked to the armoire retrieving a small revolver and a box, "Here, this is the best protection I can give you. The box has several tubes of analgesic. Put it on when the pain comes back again."

**oOoOoOoOoOo**

Adriana left the house with only the machete in her hand. What the hell was she going to do with it? Slaughter Vincent or Bo? Both were quite experienced with knives themselves. She walked along the darkened alleys. The lights in Ambrose were all shining eerily. Looked like Bo had begun the chase. At first, Adriana considered returning to the house and looking for the cell but she was a traitor to the Sinclairs now. Bo, if not Vincent, would kill her.

After quiet deliberation, she decided on the House of Wax. She sprinted towards the looming artwork. Adriana entered fully knowing Vincent was possibly there but then so could Wade's friends. She had promised to save them. Was this her path to atonement? Maybe, but for her it would take a lifetime of nunnery as well.

"Hello? Hello? Anyone here? Carly, Wade. Hello? Anyone here? This is a weird place. Hello? Anyone home? Carly? Carly?"

Adriana stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the voice.

"Shut the hell up." She commanded and the boy with curly hair turned around and considered her.

"Holy shit, man!" His eyes widened as he saw the machete.

"It's not what you think." Adriana said quickly holding her other hand out.

"You're that chick from the road kill pit. Where's Wade and Carly? What'd you do to them?!"

"Nothing, I know where Wade is. He's hurt but alive. If you don't shut up you're probably next."

Dalton knew immediately this was his end. No one suspected the beautiful woman as the psycho ever. But something was going on in this screwed up town and for all he knew his friends could have all been dead. He was moving backwards around the table.

"Please, my name is Adriana and I am going to help you."

"Help me, my ass." Dalton retorted picking a wax carrot from the bowl.

"Oh for the love of God, a measly wax carrot isn't going to kill me." Adriana rolled her eyes keeping the machete down and unoffensive, "Please, just get the hell out of this place. He will kill you."

Dalton immediately began running - in the wrong direction. Adriana ran after him.

"Wait! Damn it, stop being an idiot!"

Dalton turned around to see that she was standing still now. Her eyes were wide open with fear and excitement. Slowly, he turned around to see a blue eye peering from behind a pure white wax face. Black hair hung around his face and two large carving knives near this figure's sides.

All three sprung into action. Adriana forward, Dalton to the side, and Vincent was bringing his right knife down. Dalton tumbled onto the floor chucking the carrot. Dalton clutched his arm as blood began to wet his arm. He was on his feet again and hurrying to the floor.

"Please! Please, Vincent!" She called to him with tears in her eyes, "Just leave him alone! It's all wrong, Vincent! Your mother doesn't want this!"

"Sembra che il nostro amore non era abbastanza forte. I rapporti di anima rimane il legame più forte. E non siete stati mai fedeli."***** Vincent paused for a moment hissing out his final Italian judgment before advancing towards Dalton.

Adriana held up the machete and swung it at Vincent. Her eyes were flashing with fury.

"That was never true. What will you gain by creating this House of Wax? Everyone who comes to Ambrose dies! You know it as well as I do that nobody will see this cursed town. Your art is all for nothing! Your damn mother is dead! She doesn't give a shit what happens on Earth because she's burning in hell!" Adriana spat.

Adriana stumbled backwards.

"Vincent, please! I'm pregnant! We can't raise the baby like this!" Adriana was scared but with firm resolve for her unborn child.

Vincent stopped as her words stabbed his heart, his baby? His Adriana? Spewing this much hatred? The pain was unbearable. Why? For this stupid punk standing in front of him? Did Adriana love this boy? Vincent snapped out of his trance when Adriana's fist struck his face instantly knocking him out.

"Hey, come on." Adriana hooked her arm around Dalton's arm and pulled him out of House of Wax. They were running down the street full speed. She looked back to see Vincent standing by the doorframe supporting himself.

"Hey, hey, wait! What the hell are you doing?" Dalton stopped and Adriana slowed down. They were panting heavy, "Why are you helping me?"

"Damn it, do all of you share the same brain? Stop asking the same questions." Adriana retorted.

"Sorry? What the hell." Dalton said sarcastically.

"What's your name?"

"Dalton. You have to be the strangest chick ever. Hot but strange."

"Right. You're arm is bleeding, Dalton." They were both quiet and then Adriana continued, "I should patch that up."

"Huh? Oh, um, thanks. You know where Wade is, I mean you said so-"

"Yeah, he's safe. He got hurt, relatively bad, but he'll be alright."

"Maybe, we should go to him and we should call the police. Hold on a second, how are you involved?" Dalton asked stopping away from her, "I mean, you holding a freaking machete."

"I'm involved in the worst way. I helped them for years." Adriana sighed. She turned around to see him a good distance away, "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so with ease. Come on, Dalton. Those two are much more brutal. I punched that guy-"

"Vincent."

"Vincent, he loves me you know. I cared for them both, Vincent and his brother. But lately I've begun to realize that they care of nothing but their dead mother."

"And with the baby-" Dalton said quietly.

"Changes everything. My baby can't be raised like this. When I saw what he was doing to Wade, while your friend was alive, I couldn't no fathom such brutality coming from an artist like Vincent. All his life, Vincent was made fun of, pushed away far from others because his face was deformed but he was incredibly talented. It's really sad he can't accept his face and use his talent."

"I hate to interrupt but I think I'm going to keel over." Dalton said grabbing onto her shoulder. Adriana put her arm around his waist, "I feel really dizzy."

"I have a place close by." Adriana walked into another dark alley. She opened the door and helped him inside. Dalton stood patiently grasping the wall until a dim light turned on. She dropped the machete onto the floor. Adriana helped him onto an old beat up sofa.

Adriana considered this young man. He was cute. His eyes were like huge buttons. Innocent and loyal. She helped him remove his blue sweatshirt. Dalton kept his eyes on her hands. Was he blushing furiously? His cheeks felt hot. Adriana attempted to remove the yellow shirt he wore. Her hands brushed against his skin. Adriana felt his breathing hitch. Shyness? _That _was adorable.

"Keep going." Dalton blurted.

"Huh?" Adriana asked stopping with a sly smile.

"No, I didn't mean that, I meant with your story." He was blushing and attempting to wriggle his arm out of his shirt.

"Oh. Vincent's mother adopted me a long time ago. She was a perverse person really. You want to know her last wish? It was to make a Town of Wax and have all people admire her and her son's work. Damn bitch." Adriana ripped open an antiseptic wipe wiping away the caked blood. Dalton winced and she blew it cool, "But you know what happen? The way to create the best House of Wax was to kill people and mould them-"

"That's disgusting!" Dalton spoke up.

"I know. I deserve to rot in jail, then hell." Adriana said, "I always stayed away from the preparation part. I know it sounds sick. Vincent would injure them, sew them up, inject them with God knows what, then cover them in boiling wax while they're alive-" Adriana's voice shook. Dalton wanted to throw up.

"Why didn't you stop him?" Dalton said as she finished bandaging.

"How can you betray someone you've been around since you're ten, huh? How the hell am I going to do it now?" Adriana said quietly, "I am terribly weak, I suppose. I had no idea I was that weak. Well, not anymore."

"Don't say stuff like that. You're scaring the shit out of me. Are you going to give me to him so he can make me a candlestick?" Dalton tried to put on his shirt again.

"No! I'm not going to that!" Adriana replied curtly, "Why the hell am I telling you everything for?"

"Because I'm a good listener." Dalton said finally, "I just don't get it. Why is someone so hot like you here in this dump with those weirdos."

Adriana laughed a hearty laugh for the first time. This Dalton was truly a gem. Adriana acknowledged he was scared of her. But she knew he was not trying to judge her immediately.

"Hot? Sure." She said with a smile.

Dalton smiled, occasionally looking in her eyes, and then at her chest, further down before looking away in embarrassment.

"Well, you are." He said with small grin.

Adriana stood up.

"You okay now?" She asked gently looking at him, "We do have to help the rest of your group. And I have to find a phone."

Dalton rose.

"I haven't met anyone like you. I bet you like to have a lot of fun." Adriana said looking around the room before bending on all fours peering under the sofa. She pulled out a rifle.

"Oh, shit." Dalton shook excitedly, "I bet you're really aggressive in certain situations."

Adriana raised an eyebrow comprehending the full meaning of his dirty joke.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure you'd win that bet. We should try it sometime. Here, you can shoot with this. It's not that hard. I have eight bullets, baby. Eight bullets to knock down two men. I like the odds." Adriana said handing him the short rifle, "I think somewhere along the line of my life, I knew it was going to end like this."

"This being?"

"I think I knew all along there was someone I would like much better."

**oOoOoOoOoOo**

Vincent shook off the grogginess momentarily after Adriana had struck his face. The door of the House of Wax was still moving back and forth indicating they had just recently left. He came to terms in silence of Adriana. She was no longer loyal to them. It hurt far worse than perhaps being sliced open alive. This Adriana whom he touched with a doting worship had just shown her true colours and ran off with the punk who probably didn't know what love actually meant. She was running away with his baby. _His baby_.

Somewhere inside, Vincent knew it would be like this. She would find normalcy in the outside world leaving him all alone to wither and die with his works. His logic told him to let it be. Let her go to where her heart was happy. But his love wanted her to suffer as she was making him suffer. He wanted to moulded her slowly, let her muffled screams permeate the air as he poured hot wax on her, then put her up for display in the bedroom of the House of Wax. He would let her stand there for him. Wait an eternity for him.

"Space case, well, I see our little bitch needed more training after all. Turns out two decades ain't nearly enough." Bo standing behind him, "What a shame. All this time I thought she was on our side. Truly, I feel sad."

Vincent turned around to look at his better-looking brother. Bo was not angry or disappointed just amused.

"You know what means, huh?" Bo took a knife from Vincent's hand, "It means she dies too. But not with the mercy we'll give the others. So much pain for Adriana that she'll beg just to be killed."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

* * *

* "It seems that our love was never strong enough. Blood relationships remains the strongest bond. And you have never been faithful."

**Author's note:** How's this guys?! I really like where this is going...yeehaw! PS. Dalton was really so cute.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Dissolution of the Ties that Binds**

Adriana led Dalton towards the house where she kept Wade. She was weary of these past events fully aware that if these six friends had not come along to Ambrose she would be sitting in the Sinclair living room falling asleep while watching an old episode of Law and Order. It was those times of utter peace (and a few glasses of wine) that she realized good police work definitely beat forensic evidence. These several moments changed her life. Looking at Wade's taut body made her question Vincent's humanity. It made her imagine herself on the table instead of the young man. They could turn on her at any moment. Her own humanity, something she thought was long dead, resurfaced and almost took charge of her mind. Often, Bo and Vincent would kill their victims first. However, often, she was not present at the killings. They could have been doing this all along.

The lights of Ambrose were on, the eerie sound of hollow bells and sweet music playing, and Adriana could hear mouth the words of the songs and sounds of all the places. Bo and Vincent were probably looking for her and the others too. She looked back briefly to see Dalton biting his nails of his good hand and looking around anxiously.

"You look terrible." Adriana said as they walked over gravel on the streets of Ambrose. They were standing close to the Church and Dalton's eyes were constantly sweeping over the panorama.

"Forgive me for meeting psychos and nearly getting killed," Dalton said with a weak smile.

"Point taken," Adriana said easing the machete down. They made a sprint across the last stretch and she led him to a discreet door near a house. Taking a key from her pocket, she unlocked the door and pushed him inside. Adriana heard the loading of the revolver, "Wade, I brought your friend Dalton."

"Wade!" Dalton jumped over piles of things and sat down on the bed next to his laying body.

"Yeah, good thing you said something. I was going to shoot your ass." Wade smiled and exhaled with a moan. He turned his gaze to Adriana who stood in the door frame, "Thanks for bringing him here."

"Yeah." Adriana said with a curt smile. She was well aware what came next. There would be a confrontation between her and the only people she knew as family. Why the 'right' redemption this late in her life? Why not help those she should love and make art sculptures out of these good looking people? Adriana sighed and gripped the machete hilt tighter.

"Did you find Carly?" Wade asked, easing himself up.

"What do I look like, a Block Parent?" Adriana asked, frowning, then easing her expression, "I'm sorry, no, I didn't find her. What about your other friends, Dalton? Where are they? In Ambrose?"

Dalton considered Wade and then turned to her.

"They're outside Ambrose, you know, near that sunken road thing." Dalton stopped, "They were gonna camp out there while we got Carly and Wade."

Adriana stared blankly at them. Camp out? Near the auto mill? That was plain suicide. Vincent would have been through there and would definitely kill both of them. The mill was once an autoshop. Each and every person found in their cars were killed and sculpted into beautiful works of art. Adriana was suddenly nauseous as she thought of what mass murders she was accomplice to.

"Tell me their names."

"Paige and Blake. White girl and black guy." Dalton said looking up at her from thick lashes.

"Hopefully, they're not too preoccupied to listen to their surroundings."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Carly was crying as the handsome, suave psycho was supergluing her mouth shut.

"Just stay still! It's a shame we have to close that pretty mouth of yours. Especially with the way those lips curve, Miss Carly." Bo was turned on, majorly, as he blew at her lips.

Carly struggled against the leather seat, panicking as her mouth melded together. Bo was terribly satisfied with the way he handled this sparky blonde but truthfully wanted more from her. He wanted her body. Still, he was not the type of man who just gave in to impulse. He leaned in and her body went rigid with fear. Bo chuckled softly as he inhaled her flowery scent and kissed Carly's neck softly.

"Too bad you got so much lightning in you, you would have made a great little wife for me." He laughed loudly and she gave a muffled sob, "But you just can't trust women these days."

The Marilyn Manson song in the background was annoying now since he preferred something darker and sultrier and considerably more relaxing.

Bo sat on the edge of the table and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Wanna hear a story?" Bo asked and continued without pausing, "I trusted a woman very much. The love of my brother's life. It turns out the bitch betrayed us all. She's helping out your friends and it's annoying the shit out of me. I mean, I'm going to catch her and then skin her little by little."

Bo eased off the table and stood with his back turned to Carly.

"I wonder how she developed a conscience all of a sudden. Did that shit provoke some long buried memory in her?" Bo said out loud, "I'm going to kill that boy too. And your boyfriend too."

Carly was wriggling in panic and sobbing loudly.

"Hey!"

Bo heard a new voice and looked up through the drain cover. A boy stood above them. His demeanor looked careless and detached. Bo acknowledged the boy's blonde hair and pocketed a knife before going upstairs. He put on his cap and stepped outside.

"I'm looking for my sister and her boyfriend. They were looking for a fan belt or something."

"I don't think I've seen them." Bo replied serenely. There was sweat rolling down his face and his hair was matted down. He smiled and looked down to catch Carly's finger poking through the hole. He would teach that girl a lesson. Bo bend down and pulled out pliers from his pocket. Discreetly, he waited for her finger to fall into the trap. He imagined her pain.

"This is the only gas station in town, right?" The boy asked again, glancing at the awkward man on the floor, and the scene around him, "Yeah, then they were definitely here."

"I just told you, I didn't see them." Bo replied before gleefully closing the pliers and feeling the crunch of bone.

Nick stared at them man in front of him. He was strangely huddled to the ground and adamantly denying the fact that his sister may have come to the station. It all seemed surreal and unlikely. This man could have been hiding something very dire.

"What was that?" Nick asked at the muffled sound of something come from underneath.

"Nothing. That was just my dog." Bo began to smile, "Actually, you know what? My brother vincent was down here for a while. He could've helped your sister out. They could be up at the house."

Nick was going to leave. This Ambrose lunatic was wasting his time. What was he doing crouching and sweating for? The man looked like he was hiding something and in a hurry. It dawned on Nick that this man most likely knew something about his sister and Wade. Nick turned around to leave.

"Nick! Please! Help me, I'm down here!" The sound of his desperate sister made a well of anger burst inside of him.

Nick swung around and saw the screwdiver coming at him. He dodged it, his skills the courtesy of his daily street fights, and launched his firm fist into the man's face. The man's face twisted into a supreme grimace. Nick wanted to beat him to a pulp, watch as his blood make a trail on the concrete. Instead, he ran past him into the gas station locking it from the inside so the Ambrosian could not enter.

Nick ran down the stairs towards Carly's voice. She was crying as she struggled against the bounds of the leather chair. Nick rummaged through the toolbox and retrieved a small knife and cut her free. Carly threw her arms around his neck.

"They're all freaks! This whole town is a freakshow!" She cried, "All the people are real, in the church and other places-they're all real! These psychos killed them-"

"We have to get out of here!" Nick said, "We'll walk back to the sunken road, Blake and Paige are waiting for us there."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Vincent stared blankly at his sculpture of Adriana. He had been preparing this model for years given that she was alive and walking. It was truly the feat that she was. Her curves were exactly proportionate to the real Adriana for whom he could die. He had painted her, shaded her every possible colour. Vincent knew the love and pleasure she gave to him but it left his heart barren as to why she would betray him and his brother. What possessed her? The clothes the model wore were just as impressive as his queen, a sultry red, with stitching he had personally taken care to do. She stood here, passively and completely his, in the darkest room of the House of Wax.

Vincent stepped back and considered her eyes. The real Adriana's eyes were glassy and blue. His sculpture's eyes were white. He considered putting in colour but his Adriana was dead.

"I am sure you want to admire her for all your years to come but we have a problem."

Vincent turned around to see Bo standing in the frame of the doorway.

"That girl has a brother and he's anything but simple. We have to do this the old fashion way." Bo said advancing towards the sculpture. Vincent watched as his brother's fingers deftly outlined the jaw, "Adriana is helping them, no doubt. Jesus."

Vincent sighed and watched as Bo's hand covered her face and then travelled down her neck and chest.

"I always anticipated this from her, little brother." Bo said quietly, "She doesn't see eye to eye with our mother's ideologies. There is that humanity in her we were forgotten to teach."

Vincent moved towards the sculpture. His brother was unnaturally kind.

"Vincent, I think I expected Adriana to carry on the Sinclair lineage but it looks like that will not happen. We kill all those kids today but Adriana won't be the same. She sees something in that punk."

Vincent picked up the paintbrush and palette. He mixed in two colours of blue.

"You remember that boy I brought with me when you were in the middle of painting the Dark House? Let me tell you the story Adriana once told me." Bo was clearly enjoying this moment, watching his brother dilute his love with anger and jealousy. How else would Bo expect Vincent to slice her neck open from ear to ear? The story was not a lie but it was something she had confided in him a long time ago.

Sixteen years ago, despite her insistence that she loved Vincent, Adriana had met a boy. The boy, Watson, was tanned and in full flush of lust for Adriana. Adriana was eighteen and the looked the most luminous. Watson was the son of a small time businessman. The boy had been equally smitten by her, as most males were, and they were in the middle of a passionate love affair. The boy had come with his father to Ambrose to complete a business endeavour. Of course, the boy and his father eventually had to leave but not without a word with Bo. As much as Bo spewed venom towards

Ultimately, the father did leave Ambrose but without his son. The son, as Vincent completely learned, was Adriana's lover. More importantly, he was who she loved. Vincent stared blankly at the floor. Tears streamed down his face underneath the hardened wax. Bo kept a smirk on his face.

"You see, little brother, I am the one who has been protecting you all this time. I thought she was completely loyal to you but I was wrong. That boy she saved in the House of Wax looks exactly like Watson, doesn't he? Watson was that boy standing unattended in the locked downstairs closet of the House of Wax. He's the one I told you to hide a long time ago. All these years, you've essentially hidden him from his lover."

The more Bo told him, the more Vincent felt the hot pangs of anger leap in his heart. What would he do when he found Adriana? Slit her neck? Bring her back her and give her Valium and then sculpt her while she was alive? The possibilities were limitless when it came to soothing his broken heart.

"Aside from that, there are two by car mill and I've had a bad run in with the white punk." Bo rubbed his jaw, "I have to deal with him. You go deal with the other two. If you find Adriana along the way, let your blade destroy her the way she destroyed your heart."

Vincent nodded picking up his ivory knife.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Adriana was running now, fearing it was too late, to save Blake and Paige. Her eyes were blurring with tears and sliding off her face and flying behind her. What was it this time that made her defy her love for Vincent? It was him. That boy invoked years of regret into her heart. Years of possible normalcy, a house with a picket fence, a kitchen smelling of chocolate chip cookies and children. Dalton pushed out these dormant feelings in her. She gripped the machete tightly.

_"So, my father will open his sixth hardware store here and then we should move back to New York. I was really adverse to coming to a small rural town but really I didn't expect you."_

_"Of course you didn't, Watson. What is New York like?"_

_"NY? It's bustling, a lot more exciting than this place. You would fit right in." Watson paused and then leaned in, "Come with me, Adriana."_

_"I really can't. I mean, my family and the money-"_

_"Money isn't an issue. Just come with me. You can go to any university you want and make an exciting career for yourself. And if you're still interested after that, I will ask you to marry me."_

_"Watson, we barely know each other."_

_"That's true, I guess. But I know what kind of woman you will become. It's been months and I'm in love with you, Addie."_

_"I love you too, Watson." Adriana said and kissed him softly on the lips._

Adriana could still remember her very first love, despite convincing herself that she loved Vincent all the time. Watson was everything Vincent was not. He was lighthearted and fun and Adriana really hoped that he would take her away. That boy, Dalton, looked so much like Watson. Was it that small resemblence that surfaced years of yearning out of Adriana and the desire to escape from Ambrose, finally? Things with Watson were rosy and calm and made Adriana happy.

_"Good evening, Adriana. Care to come in for some tea or juice?"_

_Adriana made constant visits to the Ashcrombie home. Sometimes, she would meet Watson. Other times his dad as well and the three of them would eat dinner she helped make._

_"Thanks, Mr. Ashcrombie. Is Watson here right now?"_

_"No, he decided to tour the town for the last time. We leave tomorrow." Watson's father closed the door behind her, "Will you join us? Watson did tell me you may accompany us to New York City."_

_"Well, I don't think it's realistically possible. I mean I want to go but my family-" Adriana paused._

_"I see, I'll mail you my address in case you ever want to visit or move there." The older man smiled, "I'm glad Watson has found someone like you. Since his mother's death, a year ago, he's been a little reserved but it's all dissipating, thank God. I'm leaving in a few hours but he'll follow tomorrow morning. See him then, will you?"_

Adriana was now sobbing as she stepped lightly on the soft earth near the sunken road. She hopped around the puddle and towards the light coming from the campfire. Please, she begged to any higher power, let them be alright. Her redemption.

_Watson had never come to see her. Their months of courtship seemed to crack at his indifference. Adriana waited his call into the night and walked by his house once in the morning to see if he was home. She left it incomplete, her love with Watson. He left and she left him._

Adriana reached the tent to see the black boy, Blake, lying in a pool of his own blood on the damp grass. She let out a small cry and crouched down taking his pulse. He was shining with sweat as the knife protruding from his jugular stood proudly. That knife belonged to Vincent. Adriana was too late.

Adriana shot up and made a sprint towards the sliding doors. She opened the mill and heard shrilly screams throughout. Adriana ducked through towards the stairs and climbed up. She looked over the railing and saw Vincent walking slowly through the vacant lot. Adriana wanted to call out for him to stop. Yet, he voice was lost from fear. Adriana looked again at the girl, she was dressed in nothing but a pink bra and blue sweatshirt.

"Vincent!" Adriana called descending the stairs with moderate speed, "Let her go."

Vincent openly seethed at the sight of Adriana. More than wanting to kill the girl in the bra, he wanted to kill Adriana slowly. He ignored her, he had to get the job done. Vincent walked around the car and picked up a steel rod. Paige, the scantily clad girl, was screaming and hiding behind the car. Adriana was standing several cars away from Paige with Vincent standing on the other side. He gripped the sharp metal and prepared to throw it javelin style at Paige.

Adriana never did doubt Vincent's strength. She began her sprint towards the car as the javelin point began it's travel. As surreal as it seemed, Adriana was always good at calculating the speed of moving objects. She lunged forward at the last moment flinging her machete. It missed. The javelin hit the girl in the face, completely hollowing out one of her eyes. The machete landed neatly beside the dead girl. Adriana let out a howl.

"No! Vincent, why?! You have to stop!" Adriana cried, "Our child can't know this life!"

Vincent advanced.

Vincent lunged towards her, fists out, blocking out her pleas. Adriana ducked and blocked his attacks. She was getting angry. She was furious at herself for being helpless, taken in, so useless. She was angry at Vincent for not considering a life outside his mother's. Adriana punched him across the face, cracking his wax mask and making him stumble backwards. The good side of his face was exposed as the wax slid down and broke completely on the ground.

"I know you are hurt. I know I'm the one who hurt you." Adriana said stepping back, unclenching her fist, "It's time you let your mother rest in peace. These murders are sins on our souls. On Bo, Lester, you and me. We have to stop, Vincent."

Vincent's judgement was clouded with anger.

"What about our baby? Do you want to show him or her the same courtesy your parents showed you?" Adriana was touching her belly, "Please, Vincent, we can get away from all of this."

"I will not forgive you." He rasped striking her hard on the shoulder, "And that baby is not mine."

Adriana did not expect it from him. She stumbled back and hit the uneven concrete. Her arm felt dislodged. She moved it, so close but still alright.

"I don't want you to forgive me." She cried out, "I just want you to set me free. Damn it!"

A pain shot through Vincent's heart as he, out of pure malice, struck Adriana. The love of his life.

Adriana stood up shakily.

"I see you aren't going to." She furrowed her brow, "You're cornering me and giving me no choice. You leave me no choice, you hear?!"

Adriana was sprinting now through the auto mill and out into the dusty roads. Vincent might have been running after her but Adriana didn't care. She had achieved firm resolve. Out of the six friends, she was going to save as many as she could. If no one else, Dalton was going to survive even if it cost Adriana her life.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 - The Twisted Past Returns**

Dalton helped Wade apply the green gel around the sewed up wounds. Neither had talked for a while now acknowleding his own grim fate in the absurd town of Ambrose at the mercy of sadistic killers. Wade looked up at Dalton whose blue eyes were fixed on the Novocaine.

"Maybe you should use some too," Wade said finally leaning back on the lumpy pillow.

"Yeah." Dalton moved back and removed his jacket. His shirt was already ripped at the gash in his arm. Messily, he applied the green gel and sighed, "I thought we were going to see that game."

"I wonder if Carly's ok."

"She is." Dalton answered hesitantly. He was crazy about Carly, that much was true, but he was lusting (despite the dark situation) over the older Adriana. What was wrong with him? And what was wrong with her for giving him so much attention?

They both heard the outside lock click open and the door flung open. Wade raised the revolver.

Adriana closed the door softly. She clutched her knees as she bent over and breathed out noisily. She leaned against the drawer while Dalton fussed over her.

"He the blonde girl and her boyfriend." Adriana said quietly, her lips quivering, "I couldn't do anything, shit, nothing at all."

Dalton moved towards her and lightly touched her back.

"It's not your fault, you tried to help them. Are you hurt?" Dalton asked as he shut the door behind him.

Adriana's eyes flung open and she gave weak smile. She stood up. "It's obvious I didn't try hard enough."

Adriana began to cry. The tears, pent up for decades, flowed freely as Dalton eyed her sadly. He shuffled beside her and put his arm around her.

Adriana wrapped her own arms around his neck. She let her nose bury in his neck, this complete stranger was unraveling her part by part. She felt his soft chest against her own and it made her skin crawl. Her thoughts diverted slightly to something of a more sexual nature. This was what she imagined with Watson those months so many years ago. The past was the past. Over the years, although she found some solace in Vincent, Watson remained in her heart. It was not because they shared something so unique and beautiful - a love like no other - it was the lack of closure and her first and crushing rejection from a boy she thought loved her. Dalton looked like him. So much like him that it was clouding her mind.

Adriana inhaled deeply before pushing him back.

"I don't deserve this." She said softly, "And neither do you. You're going to find a woman who loves you and you love her."

Dalton sat beside her.

"You know, I really love Carly. Her brother just doesn't agree with it and she's always asking about me." Dalton paused, "I don't understand why. I've known Carly and Nick since were kids and tell me that isn't honest love."

"Brothers are very protective." She said finally, "Don't give up though. Her life is her own and she may choose you."

_Her life is her own_, Adriana thought. Why didn't she make it apply on her? How could she have let her soul waste away the way she did. The common accepted goodness, not to kill people, was her own principles. It was strange how just living there and watching Vincent and Bo murder people to turn them to art made it all justifiable. It made her existence justifiable.

"I wish I had met you earlier." Adriana said quietly.

Dalton looked inquisitively at her, expecting an explanation.

"You look like Watson." Adriana stopped waiting for him to press for answers, he didn't, and she continued, "I was in love with Watson. And, he would have saved me from all of this destroying debauchery. Looking at you stirred in me the passion to live and let live. I thought I buried these emotions a long time ago but here they are."

"You have to save Carly." Dalton said looking at her intensely, "Please, save Carly."

Adriana stood up and picked up the machete off the floor. Dalton followed her. She opened the door to see Wade sitting on the edge of the bed with his feet on the floor.

"Anesthetic wearing off? Good." She said with a new found vigour, "We have to do this quickly. All three of you will have to walk to your friends truck. I'm going to go up to the house and find Carly. Chances are if they were caught, they're up at the house."

"How do we know you're not just playing with us?" Wade sniffled, "Blake and Paige are dead."

"If I were, you wouldn't have even realized you were dead right now." Adriana said, "Go quickly."

She headed towards the door slowing down. Adriana turned around taking the pistol from Wade and handing him the machete.

"This time death is going to be permanent."

"Good luck, Adriana," Dalton murmured.

XOXOXOXOX

Vincent stared at the sculpture. His life's greatest work stood there in front of him. The finished Adriana. He had gotten himself to finish the colour in her eyes. She stared at him with a slight tilt in her lips. Vincent moved closer to her, imagining her smell, her voice, and let his fingers trail down the side of her face. He loved her so much, more than his mother, more than his father and brothers. Vincent's touch travelled southward over the hills of her cleavage and he stepped back clenching his fists.

He breathed in when he heard the footsteps upstairs.

Truth be told, he didn't care nothing for art anymore. He left the black boy's and white girl's body lying by the auto mill. Bo would have something to say about it but he didn't care anymore. There was only one more sculpture he was going to make. Adriana's corpse.

XOXOXOXOX

Nick and Carly crept along the outskirts of the Sinclair house. It was darker and dingier than before. The pickup truck stood in front of the house looking far more rundown and ugly than before.

"The cellphone's in there." Carly said hurrying toward the car. She opened the driver's side door and ran her hands over the seat. Carly panicked at the thought of being stranded, "It's not here! It's not here! It's in the house!"

Carly stepped quick strides towards the house. Nick grabbed her wrist and spun her around.

"You can't just go in there. That's probably what those bastards expect. We need a plan." He squinted his eyes looking at the flickering lights of the Sinclair house, "There's not much else we can do. I'll go in first."

"We can both go in." Carly said with a weak smile.

They sprinted towards the door and opened it. Carly picked up the baseball bat lying carefree by the door. They both entered the dimly lit house. They hurried around the table and into the dining room. Nick pointed to a gun cabinet. He took the baseball bat and covered it with a rag and broke the glass of the cabinet. He rattled at the lock desperately. Both froze as they heard the heavy shoed footsteps.

Carly dove under the pool table. She was scared as the masked psycho appeared in the doorway. He knew. Nick held the baseball bat tightly as the psycho moved around the table before standing still to listen. Nick edged behind the kitchen door.

The door slammed open and Carly jumped containing herself before she was discovered. Bo entered the house with a deadly glare on his face.

"What the hell is your problem?" He said, "You left that kid out there. You're supposed to bring him back here, stupid. Come on, help me take him inside."

Vincent did not argue with Bo. Not that he could, but not even in his mind. They both went outside to retrieve Blake's body.

Carly and Nick hurried through the house looking for a phone. The only visible phone was the one on the table with no dial tone. They ran in and out of rooms searching before stopping in the surgical room. Carly looked unsettled as she saw the blood on the floor. Nick pointed towards the light streaming up from the floor.

"Trapdoor." He whispered.

They both descended down the ladder and onto the soft earth. They ran through the corridor, past the very noisy generator, and into a very sinister looking room. There was wax splattered on the floors. Carly gasped as a very familiar T-shirt lay on the floor.

"Oh God!" She gasped, "Wade, oh, please!"

"Oh God is right."

Both Carly and Nick turned around to face the twin murderers. Nick clenched his jaw and balled his fists.

"You bastard, you're gonna pay!"

Nick lunged towards Vincent who was not expecting it at all. They both crashed into the floor with a heavy thud. Vincent struck him hard across the face. Nick yelled in pain as blood poured down his nose.

"As for you, my pretty." Bo said advancing towards Carly. He grabbed her and pulled her across the room towards Vincent's utility table picking up a rusted knife. Carly was screaming, struggling and crying as Bo picked up the knife.

"Carly!" Nick shouted pushing Vincent away in vain.

The knife came down just when a bullet rung through Vincent's lair. Bo dropped the knife as blood poured from the open would in his temple.

XOXOXOXO


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: This is the end! Read and Review, your thoughts are always welcome!**

**Chapter 12: Point of Redemption**

Bo slumped over as blood spilled angrily over his face. Adriana stood a few feet away; the revolver in her hands was shaking from the impact of the shot. She couldn't believe it. Bo's eyes were glazed over in red and his lips parted as if he was going to tell her something. Adriana was shaking but her mind had made firm resolve. There was nothing more she wanted then to save Dalton. She felt a pang of guilt over not being more sympathetic towards the rest. But those eyes, those vibrant blue eyes, brought Watson back into her mind.

Carly and Nick clung to each other. Adriana let out a small wail as she dropped the gun onto the floor. She had killed him. Bo was a member of her family. She had just killed her brother. It was unsettling.

"Get out of here. You have to go to the mill, your friend's truck was there. Though, I didn't reach in time, he's dead, I'm sorry." Adriana's voice was breaking, "Just go, run!"

Carly let go of her brother. She walked a few steps towards Adriana.

"Thank you."

"Just get lost." Adriana seethed as she sat on the floor, stroking Bo's hair, "You don't owe me anything."

"Come on, Carly." The two of them disappeared into the dark passageway leading out of the underground lair. Adriana simply sat on the floor disheartened and wanting to die.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Vincent was walking towards the Sinclair house. The ivory hilted hunting knife shone in the eerie moonlight. He was unhappy. He was suicidal. He knew something was wrong as he heard the revolver shot coming from the house. He picked up the pace. Vincent's straggly hair fell around his face, his wax face was dented and damaged, and his clothes were covered in blood. Vincent opened the door to the house and entered. There was dim light coming from the old lamps but other than that there was darkness.

Vincent stopped suddenly as he heard two voices in the medical room. They were no familiar voices. He readied the knife. Vincent entered the room to see the trapdoor open and light flowing steadily out of it. Vincent felt the anger rise in him. The first head emerged from the trapdoor. Vincent propelled the knife forward and swiped open the blonde boy's jugular. The boy, Nick, was shocked and confused as he slumped back down the ladder, lifeless.

"Oh God! Nick! Nick! Nooo!" Carly was yelling as the weight of her brother's body fell on top of her. He legs were pinned and she was clawing desperately into the chip covered floor. Vincent jumped down into the pit. He was disgusted with the way the girl was begging for her life. It was indignified.

Carly pulled herself free and stumbled forward, getting to her feet.

"Help! Help!" She yelled, "Oh please! Help me!"

Adriana snapped from her reverie. She looked into the darkness as Carly's pleas approached. Adriana rose but stood pristinely.

Vincent grabbed the back of Carly's tanktop. He was angry, the rage was boiling in his like an inferno, he wanted to see blood. He pulled Carly backwards, she stumbled, and he pushed her head into the rock wall.

Adriana heard the sickening crunch and the immediate silence. She began to walk towards the hall.

"Carly?" She called out, quietly, frightened at what was transpiring in the darkness beyond her vision.

Vincent's eyes narrowed. The bitch was here. She was waiting for him. He was going to give her the time of her life.

**~*~*~*~*~**

Wade limped along the uneven ground, his arm was around Dalton's good shoulder.

"There's the truck." Wade said, even though it was plain as day.

"Where's Carly and Nick?" Paige piped up timidly, "It's been almost an hour since Adriana left."

"They're ok, they're coming." Wade said, even though he himself was unsure.

They waited silently. Out of the night came a pickup with a broken headlight.

"Oh shit! Shit!" Dalton pointed at the truck, in full panic, "Get in the truck, Wade, get in!"

The pickup door opened and Wade recognized the driver as the hillbilly from the road when they first arrived to Ambrose. Dalton ripped open Blake's pickup truck pushing Wade inside. Wade groaned as pain shot everywhere in his body.

"Well looky looky!" Lester called, loading his shotgun, "guess we got a few survivors!"

Dalton ran around as Lester shot at him. The bullet hit the ground and Dalton stumbled before coming around to the driver's side. Lester continued cocking his shotgun and firing. The bullets were missing the targets and he was laughing shrilly.

Dalton revved up the engine.

"I'm gonna run the motherfucker down!" He pressed the gas pedal hard and Wade was cursing loud and hard. Lester continued shooting at the windshield before it registered what was about to happen.

The truck slammed into Lester and his ribcage cracked. He felt it, the agonizing pain but as suddenly as it came it went. The tire rolled over his skull and he was no more.

Dalton was screaming, crying, and laughing at once. Wade was smiling through his pain.

"We're going to make it out of here!" Wade shouted.

**~*~*~*~*~**

Vincent lunged at Adriana knocking her down with a heavy thud. She groaned, flailing to get herself back up but he had forced all the wind out of her. Out of breath and disoriented, Adriana looked up at him. Vincent was holding a pair of blood-stained machetes.

Adriana lifted herself off the floor and began running; Vincent closed in behind her. She felt the air generated by the slicing of his machetes and ran towards the darkened corridor to the House of Wax. Adriana stumbled inside with Vincent close at her heels. She was scared in the mausoleum of their sins. She hid behind a large leather couch to regain breath as she scanned the room. Adriana could see Vincent searching the adjacent room for her. She got ready to move before a sharp pain paralyzed her.

It took a lot of energy and determination for Adriana to stay silent. Was she injured? Adriana moved as Vincent approached into the kitchen of the House of Wax where she saw a small closet. She would hide in there until the pain subsided and then move on.

Adriana crept inside and sat there wringing her fingers. She couldn't hear Vincent's footsteps anymore and it disconcerted her. The door flung open, letting light stream in, Adriana screamed.

"I found you." Vincent snarled.

"Vincent, I'm begging you, please," Adriana was crying, she crawled back before hitting something.

Adriana looked up and gasped. He was standing over her like a pristine angel waiting to take her away. For a moment, Adriana forgot Vincent standing behind her as she stared into the eyes of her beloved Watson.

"Oh God, oh God, what did you do to him?!" Adriana was shrieking and sobbing as she stood to touch the waxen, dusty face. It must have been all too much. The pain return to renewed vigor and a flood seemed to wash down Adriana's legs. She looked down to see blood soaking into her pants. The baby was dying and she could do nothing. There was nothing for her. Nothing to hope for.

Adriana slumped onto the floor, broken. Vincent felt pity and sorrow as he looked at her now. He and Bo has taken away her lover, why was it so bad that she separate herself from him. He pondered whether to kill her now or later. He lowered his machetes and dropped them to the ground. Vincent collected her lovingly into his arms. Adriana was seeing blurry and she wrapped her arms around his neck, smelling his familiar smell. Where were they going to go? This limbo was just a farce and she was the traitor.

"Adriana." He whispered, tears in his eyes too.

"Our baby," she cried into his straggly hair and lost consciousness.

**~*~*~*~*~**

She was lying now atop his work bench. Her shirt was gone and her limbs bound. Adriana was terrified as he cranked up the fire under the wax. Vincent was standing over her stroking her face and hair. He left her side and Adriana desperately looked around. Vincent returned with hot wax and poured it over her belly. She groaned in pain. The wax was burning her flesh.

"Please, please Vincent," Adriana writhed on the table trying to get free. She wanted to beg for her life but knew she had no right. She betrayed them, she killed Bo.

Vincent turned his back, as tears streamed down his face under his mask. Slowly, he removed his mask so both of their vulnerabilities would be on display.

"I wanted to show you my greatest masterpiece." He rasped.

Adriana looked at him in disbelief. She stared at his back as he moved a figure into the light. She looked at his tool tray close by. If only she could grab the scraper, it would give her the time she needed to get away. Adriana reached out, farther and farther while her torso throbbed.

The figure was done, Adriana stared at it overwhelmed. It was her in all her glory except the waxy statue's eyes had been gouged out. She shuddered.

"I couldn't get the eyes the right color." He said matter-of-factly, "But that can be remedied."

Adriana abruptly shot up from the table grabbing the scraper. Vincent leapt forward and held her down and swiftly carved out her right eye. Adriana screamed in agony and plunged the sharp metal into his neck. Blood jetted out of Vincent's jugular as he stumbled back and fell flat clutching his neck wound.

Adriana saw her eye roll out onto the floor and she gasped. It was a horrific sight, her own body part lying there on the waxy floor. She held her hand against her damaged eye and stared at the dying Vincent.

"I'm so sorry, my love, so sorry." Adriana stepped over him and turned up the generators, "How can I forget that my own family killed the only happiness I ever had?"

The wax erupted into flames as she burst through the door to the outside. It was over. Her family was dead. The sins were done. And repentance remained. Adriana wrapped a cloth over her eye socket and wandered off into the deserted road. There was a life waiting for her out there outside of Ambrose.

**~*~*~*~*~**

FIVE YEARS LATER

Adriana shuffled around papers filing them away. She was tired and it was only noon. She stared at the corpse on the metal slab in front of her. The body belonged to some teenager bludgeoned to death. Her glass eye slipped a little and Adriana moved back from the table and removed her latex gloves. She popped out the glass eye and stared at herself in the metal cabinets.

She never forgot Ambrose even though it had been five years since it happened. She never forgot Vincent. She couldn't get herself to look at candles in grocery stores either.

The door behind her opened and Adriana slipped her glass eye back in. A young man dressed in a lab coat entered clutching a clipboard.

"Hi, I'm your technician, Corey Watson. Nice to meet you, Ms. Sinclair." He held out his hand and Adriana shook it, "Oh wow, there's a body here already. Well, I guess there would be, this is a police morgue."

"Your lucky day and his unlucky day, I guess, Watson." She smiled at him and handed him sheets, "Fill these out and I'll check them over."

Watson returned the papers to Adriana and she looked them over.

"That's impressive."

"I've had a few months experience with the hospital coroner." He beamed, "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your eye?"

"You can tell it's fake."

Watson stared at her and Adriana looked at him curiously.

"Well, no offense to your ophthalmologist but it's not really the exact color of the other one." Watson said.

"Astute observation, Watson." Adriana turned around to file the papers into the cabinet, "I was told by an extraordinary artist once that it was a hard color to make."

Adriana motioned for him to get into gear so they could begin the autopsy.

"And is it hard, Ms. Sinclair, you know, not having that eye while working here?" Watson asked.

Adriana chuckled darkly.

"Please, call me Adriana," she said not looking up from the dead boy, "No, it's not that difficult, I wasn't really seeing before the accident anyways."

**FIN FIN **


End file.
